An Adventure of a Lifetime Pt3: Shonna in Sinnoh
by CoolWhipSD
Summary: Part 3 of 4. In this story, after 3 years, Kyle and Shonna reunite for their journey through Sinnoh. It would seem nothing between their friendship has changed, but Sinnoh will find new ways to test them.
1. Prologue: Bittersweet Memories!

**A/N: First off, if you haven't read the previous installments to this series, please do so now. This is the sequel to them.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon, or any part of it. I use the characters from the game and anime, as well as some of my own. Only those I've created do I claim any credit for.**

**x-x-x  
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Prologue: Bittersweet Memories

It's been three years since my adventures in Kanto. I'm sixteen, and still working at the Day-Care Center. There's a guy who used to volunteer, and is now working part time at the center with me. His name's Stephen, and he's constantly hitting on me. I brush it off though, usually Riolu sneaks up behind him and Force Palms him. My other pokemon are living happily too. Duchess and Delcatty stay at home as housecats. I get Aerodactyl to fly me around from time to time, but he usually roosts up in the Solaceon Ruins. I keep Rapidash on me, to ride around on for shorter distances. Pikachu stays and helps out at the Day-Care Center with me. I guess helping other pokemon runs in her blood. Vaporeon happily lives in the pond at the center, and Butterfree is a friendly face that loves playing with the others there as well. It's like we're one big happy family.

The old couple that owns the center, have already agreed to let me have the place when I'm ready to take over. My cousin Brock has shown his displeasure at my inheritance, his dream of being a top breeder made sure of that. He and the rest of his family don't really talk to me much anymore because of that.

Everyone in Solaceon Town knows me from my local poffin specialties that I sell, and competing in Kanto. I didn't win, but top four was enough to make me somewhat famous. Every time anything happens, somebody comes running to me. The local newspaper is always interviewing me, asking about my previous adventures. I've kind of become this celebrity in town, and sometimes, I serve as even more than that.

I was sweeping the floor to the center early that morning, when the bell chimed and the little girl ran in.

"Shonna Shonna!" The girl was crying her eyes out.

"What is it Claire?" In a small town like this, everyone knows everyone.

"Shonna! Evan and his friends are in the fields just outside of town! They're picking on this poor Starly! You've gotta help!"

"Don't worry Claire. I'll help it out." I propped the broom against the door, and ran outside. Releasing Rapidash, I hopped on his back and rode gallantly.


	2. Starly Rescue and Shonna’s First Date!

**x-x-x**

Episode 1: The Starly Rescue and Shonna's First Date!

"Haha!" The boys laughed as they smacked down their sticks. "This thing's so stupid. It can't even fly away!"

"Star…" The starly flopped down on the ground, giving up.

"Heheh." Evan sneered. "What a weak pokemon!"

"Uh oh! Evan! You see those blue flames? Shonna's coming!" One of the boys pointed.

"So what? What's she gonna do about it?" Evan wiped his nose arrogantly.

"She'll get us good!" One of the boys yelled.

"Yeah! She's got the strongest pokemon in town!" Another chimed.

"So?" Evan held tight to his stick. "Just in this hick town. That don't mean nuttin!"

I rode up to the scene and watched as the other boys took off running. Evan stayed. I saw the beaten starly on the ground and glared at the little boy.

"Evan!" I hopped off of Rapidash. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Just having a little fun." Evan grinned as he took the stick and hit the Starly once more.

"Stop it!" I yelled.

"Why?" Evan turned to face me. "What are you going to do about it?"

I paused for a moment, and closed my eyes. "Evan, I think in these situations, the best thing to do, is let you know how the pokemon feels."

"Oh really?" Evan grinned. "A lecture? Or what? How do plan on doing that?"

"I'll tell you how." I picked up a hefty tree limb laying next to me. "By taking this and beating it into your head!"

"Aghhhhhh!" Evan ran from me as I chased him down the hillside. I of course had no intention of hitting him with it, but I think it actually got through to him. I stopped chasing after him when he got into town. He ran crying like a baby, and I ran back up to Rapidash and the starly. The starly got one look at me with the large stick and shuttered in fear. I threw the stick down and kneeled beside it, picking it up in my hands.

"Oh you poor thing." I gently pet her head. "They broke your wing. The bullies." I got on Rapidash and held the starly close to me. "It'll be okay though. I'll take care of you. Rapidash! Back to the center!" Rapidash trotted down the hill and up to the center's door. I returned him and walked inside, where I saw Stephen, sweeping as usual.

"Hey babe, where've you been? I was getting worried." He grinned as he saw me.

"I'll tell you where I've been. I've been rescuing this starly from your stupid little brother Stephen! Can't you teach that boy some manners around pokemon?" I set the starly down on a table and pulled out some medical supplies.

"Ah jeez. That's bad." Stephen actually seemed pretty concerned.

"Yes it is. He broke her wing. If I hadn't got there, he would have probably killed her." I held Starly down and sprayed some potion on her.

"Star!" She squirmed under my hand from the stinging, but her minor injuries were healed in seconds. "Ly?"

"I'm sorry about him. I'll talk to mom and dad about it when I get home." Stephen propped the broom against the wall and put his arm around me. "Hey, what are you doing after work?"

This time I was squirming as I got myself out from under his arm. "Nothing I guess. Why?" I placed a splint on the Starly's wing and carefully wrapped a bandage around it. The starly looked at me with an endearing look. I could tell she was grateful.

"Well see, I know this great little café. It's close by too. I'd like to take you there."

I'd always ignored his advances before, and I couldn't figure out why I wasn't now. More than likely though, I was just curious about this supposed new restaurant in town. "A café?" I put the starly in a simple bird cage with some food and water. She wasn't ready to go out with the other pokemon until that wing was healed. "I've never heard of a café in Solaceon Town."

"Yeah well, it's one of those places not many people know about." Stephen grinned.

"I have to admit, you make it sound nice." I shrugged, knowing I'd regret this later. "Sure. I'll go out with you."

"No way!" Stephen seemed shocked. "I mean… great! I'll come get you later tonight then." He grinned as he walked out, finishing his shift.

Riolu popped up from behind the counter.

"Hey you!" I picked him up. He was getting big. "Have you been asleep all day?"

"Luuuu…" Riolu yawned.

"Pi!" Pikachu drug a bag of pokekibble through the room and put it back into the corner.

"Aww, and Pikachu, you already fed the pokemon? You guys are great." I set Riolu back down and spoke to both of them. "Well I hate to ask, but do you think you could take care of it a while longer? I have a date tonight." Pikachu nodded. Riolu just tilted his head curiously. "And if you could, keep an eye on that starly over there. She's been through a lot." I began closing up as the sun set through the window.

**x-x-x**

"Yeah babe! I swear it's real! I go to it all the time." Stephen laughed as he skipped down the pathway out of town. He was dressed in his usual football jersey and jeans. I had actually dressed up somewhat and was wearing a skirt and nice top.

"How much further is it?" I asked as we kept walking.

"It's right over there!" He pointed at a small building with a large barn in the back. Barns were a common sight in Solaceon Town. The building looked nice, but their sign was being repainted and had a cover over it. I couldn't tell what the name of it was. We walked into the restaurant and Stephen took a seat by the door. I sat across from him and looked around. Nice warm lighting, but an odd atmosphere. And even more strangely, the seats were filled only by men. I looked out the window at the night sky, and listened as Stephen went on and on about some sports thing. I sighed, remembering when I was sitting at a restaurant with Kyle. That big buffet place at Indigo Town. But why was I suddenly thinking about that? It'd been a long while since I'd thought about him. I felt kind of bad really. Thinking about another man while I was on a date with Stephen. But as I stared up at the moon, I remembered that night he got his umbreon and…

"Don't you agree babe?" Stephen leaned forward as he said this.

"Oh, yeah. Totally." I had no idea what he said.

"Wow! I never knew you thought I was hot too!" He grinned. "But then again, my beauty is irresistible." He combed back his hair.

"And your ego is insatiable." I grumbled.

"What'd you say babe?" Stephen looked puzzled.

"Can I take your order?" A waitress came over in a very revealing maid's outfit. I stared at her oddly, unsure what to make of it.

"Oh, hey there Jennifer. You're looking sexier than ever." Stephen stared at her cleavage. She giggled like crazy.

"What the heck do you think your doing?" I asked, hopping mad.

"What?" Stephen looked back at me confused. "I'm an attractive man, she's an attractive woman, these things just happen babe."

I sat speechless, and looked around to see another maid serving milk to a man at another seat. "This isn't a café you idiot! It's a milk bar!"

"Uh, aint that the same thing?" He scratched his head.

I got up, and slid out of the booth, walking out the door. Stephen didn't chase after me, and instead began flirting with the waitress._ Yeah, I'll bet he comes there all the time. _I thought to myself as I huffed off, back to the day-care center. I unlocked the door and grabbed Riolu and the bird cage with Starly. I locked the door back, and walked to my house, which was a short distance away. I stomped inside, not even greeting Mom, Duchess, or Delcatty. I walked straight up the stairs and into my room, closing the door behind me. I set the pokemon down on my bed and changed into my pajamas, quickly washing off what little make-up I'd put on. I flopped down on the bed, and Riolu crawled onto my stomach.

"Oh Riolu." I sighed. "You always make me feel better." I sat up and let the starly out of her cage, she walked over to us, but tripped and fell face first into the comforter.

I giggled. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh." I helped Starly up. "Don't worry Starly, I'm going to work really hard to get you better, so you can go back into the wild."

"Star." Starly stared at the splint on her wing.

"You'll heal up. You just have to give it time. But until then, I'm afraid you're going to have to stay in the cage, for just a bit. Then we'll work on slowly getting you out and about." I put her back in the cage and set it on my nightstand. I turned out the light and sighed, thinking about my awful night. I rolled over, snuggling under the covers, and let Riolu curl up beside me. I looked over at the doll laying face first on my bed. I reached over and pulled it close to me. A teddiursa doll. Still just as cute as the day I got it. When I looked at it, it used to make me feel sad and lonely. But lately, it made me feel better. I held it close to me as I drifted off to sleep.


	3. Old Feelings and Old Friends Return!

**x-x-x**

Episode 2: Old Feelings and Old Friends Return!

About a month or so later, I got up especially early one morning to go to work. I got there and unlocked the door. Riolu followed behind me. I set Starly down gently on the counter. She was still asleep. I changed into my work clothes, which I hated, but they did the job. An old pink t-shirt and overalls. It made me feel just like every other farmer in this town, but it was better than getting my good clothes dirty. I grabbed the large bag I'd stuffed in my purse and took it and the pokekibble out to the field. I had thrown myself into cooking last night and made some top-notch poffins. I could make excellent poffins for pokemon, but still couldn't cook a lick for myself. I walked to each pokemon's bowl, and filled it with kibble. Riolu walked behind me and placed a poffin on top of each one. I had to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't sneak one for himself, but he was good and didn't.

I leaned against the fencepost and waited for the pokemon to wake up. It was a slow season, so there were only twelve staying with us today. Most of them were mine. I watched happily as the pokemon woke up to the delicious treat, and munched it down happily. I looked over at Riolu, who was drooling over the poffins.

"Hey." I passed him one I'd hid in my sleeve. "You didn't think I'd forgotten my best helper did you?"

Riolu smiled as he took the poffin and scarfed it down. I felt his aura resonate happiness, which I was used to now. I hadn't trained him much, but it seemed to be getting stronger. I walked back into the center, and I saw Starly and Pikachu munching on their poffins. The bell rang above the door, and I turned around to see the older woman, Mary walk in.

"Hi Mary." I scribbled down Starly onto the log of our current pokemon, which I'd neglected to do for a while. "How's John doing?"

"Oh he's fine dear. Still has a cold and can't come in yet though." She took her place behind the counter.

"Well, you tell him to rest up. I've got everything under control." I smiled.

"I know you do. That's why we're leaving the place to you remember?" She looked around. "I swear, you and Stephen take such good care of the place."

I shook my head. He only works part-time, and Mary and John know all he does is clean and hit on me. He doesn't even fool with the pokemon. I think the only reason they say things like that, is because they have some whacked idea that me and Stephen will get married and run the place like they did. I was never going to let that happen. But I kept my mouth shut as I took Starly out of her cage.

The bell on the door rang again as Stephen walked in. He glanced over at me before putting on his apron. He didn't talk to me as much as he used to, which I was glad of. He still tried, but anymore I barely gave him the time of day. Now that he was working, I took the opportunity to take a break and go over to the PC in the corner. I sat down, and dialed Erica's number.

"Hey there!" Her cheery face lit up the screen. "Haven't heard from you in a while."

"It's only been a month or so," I chuckled. "How are you?"

"Oh, same old same old. But the real question is how are you?" She giggled. "No offense, but you look like a mess."

I brushed some dirt off my overalls. "Sorry, I'm calling from work."

"Oh! You're at work. How's that going?" She glanced down on the screen. "I see a cute little Starly in your lap there."

"Yep, she broke her wing. I'm taking care of her." I pet Starly.

"Star!" Starly cooed.

"Hmm, hey how are things with you and Stephen?" She whispered.

"Ugh. Don't ask." I sulked.

"That bad huh?" Erica frowned.

"Yes. I went on a date with him." I looked around, making sure he wasn't nearby. "He took me to a milk bar! And flirted with the milk maids!"

"That's awful!" Erica gasped.

"I know."

"Well, what are you going to do though? I mean… there's not exactly a whole lot of guys to pick from in your town huh?"

"Not at all." I thought to myself. "Actually, Stephen's the only one around my age."

"Hey, whatever happened to that one guy? What was his name? Kyle?"

I tensed up, just hearing his name.

"Yeah I know, you always say you don't want to talk about it. But c'mon. Fess up! What happened between you two?"

"It was stupid." I sighed. "I left him. I just knew we were going down two totally different paths, and broke it off without a good reason or anything."

"And you haven't heard from him since?" Erica looked shocked.

"Nope. Last I heard he was competing in the Johto league."

"The Johto League." Erica paused. "I don't follow the other leagues a whole lot, but I think I remember hearing about that now. I think he won."

"Really?" I was genuinely interested, and thought about looking it up later, but decided against it. "Eh, he's probably moved on and has made some new friends." I whispered to myself. "Probably ones who are girls."

I looked back up at the screen, and saw Erica looking up as well. I continued looking up and saw Stephen standing over me.

"Hey babe, who's your cute friend?" Stephen asked. I took the broom right out of his hands and whacked him with it.

"Get back to work!" I yelled. He whimpered as he walked away sweeping. I walked back over to the PC. "Sorry Erica, I gotta go." I hit the cancel button and the screen went black. Starly sat on the desk and waited for me to pick her up. I did so, and walked back out to the field. "Your wing's getting better Starly, you should be able to fly soon." I set her down on the grass with the other pokemon. She ran after them and began playing. I smiled watching her start to flap her wings. I wondered if pokemon remembered old injuries. I held up my hand, revealing the scar in my palm, and couldn't help but remember mine.

"Lu! Lu!" Riolu sent out happy signals again, and I wondered why. I wasn't playing with him. I turned, to see him pointing at something above him. On the fencepost, sat a Pichu, who stared back at me.

"Pi! Cha!" The Pichu smiled.

"Well hey there little guy. Where'd you come from?" I walked over to it, and pet it gently. It released a few sparks happily. "You're a lot like a Pichu I used to know."

The pichu hopped down and began playing with Riolu. They toppled around like old friends, and I watched them, bewildered. "But… how?" Then the idea hit me. "No! That can't be…" I looked around, searching the grounds for any sign of him. I didn't see anything, until I looked down into the town's entrance. There, he walked slowly toward me. He looked different, older of course. And he had on a black jacket, a gray t-shirt and jeans. I stepped back, feeling as though I'd seen a ghost as he walked right up to me and leaned over the fence.

"Hi Shonna, it's been a while." He smiled at me.

"K-Kyle!" I stood shocked. _I must be dreaming right? After three years? It can't really be him. _

Pichu hopped up to his shoulder and licked at his face. He brushed him off and Pichu happily nuzzled in his hair, which was much shorter than I remembered. "W-what are you doing here?" Riolu hopped on my shoulder.

"Well, I was just passing through on my way through the Sinnoh region. Hoping you know, we could catch up." He looked down sadly. "Unless, you don't won't to talk to me."

It took me a while to realize why he was saying it like that. I felt a twinge in my heart, knowing just how much I'd hurt him. "No! I do! Just wait… I," I looked down at my dirty overalls and felt very embarrassed. I must have looked awful. "Umm, just go inside and I'll meet you there." I ran in and rushed to the bathroom in the back, fiddling with my hair. "Shoot, I'm a mess." I knew I was acting silly, but I felt so nervous all the sudden. I brushed my hair out and reached for my outfit. I changed into the tan pants. They hugged my butt nicely. I reached for the purple shirt, with blue modern detailing. I pulled a blue jacket over me, and wrapped the multicolor scarf around my neck. Here in Solaceon Town, the weather was fairly moderate, but Sinnoh is known to be much colder than the Kanto Region.

I felt pretty good looking in the mirror now, and Riolu followed me as I walked out to the main entrance of the building. Pichu and Pikachu were happily playing on the counter. Mary had walked into the back room. Stephen and Kyle stood in the room eyeing each other.

"Hey babe!" Stephen yelled as he glared at Kyle. "There's this weirdo here who says he's not here to drop off any pokemon." He clenched his fists on the broom. "He says he's just here to see you."

I pushed Stephen away. "Back off Stephen. I invited him in." Stephen looked confused. "He's an old friend. I'm going to go on break, cover for me okay?" I ran out the door, pulling Kyle along. Riolu stayed behind with Pichu and Pikachu.

"Phew." I sighed as I closed the door. I let go of Kyle's hand when I realized I'd absent-mindedly grabbed it.

"Uh, Shonna. Was that guy you're… umm." He paused, unable to say the word.

"No! No way. Though he'd like to be." I shook my head.

"Oh, okay." I thought I caught a look of relief, but it was hard to tell. "So, do you have some place picked out where we can talk?"

"Oh yeah sure. Follow me." I began walking in the direction. "It's a milk bar in town." I saw Kyle give me a funny look. "It's not my kind of place either. But I found out that the annoying maids are only there in the evenings, it's early so…" I continued walking until we reached the restaurant. "The food's actually not that bad." I pushed open the door and we took a booth in the back. A normally dressed waiter came and took our order. "So Kyle, tell me what you've been up to."

"You first." He smiled.

"Oh, okay. Well I haven't been doing much honestly. Just been taking care of the day-care center." I shuffled my feet sheepishly.

"It looked really beautiful. You do a great job of it." He leaned forward, taking a sip of his soda. "Are you still going to run the place someday?"

"Yeah." I felt so odd, and embarrassed. I guess because it'd been so long since someone had genuinely been interested in me, and what I was doing. "But really, that's all. Boring stuff. Tell me about your adventures."

"I've been traveling the world." Kyle leaned back. "I've been to Johto, Hoenn, and now Sinnoh too."

"Wow, and you've been competing in all their leagues?" I sipped on my chocolate milkshake.

"Yep. Sure have." This time he was the one looking embarrassed.

Before I could ask him anything else, I heard the annoying squeaky voices of Jennifer and her sisters come through the doors.

"Like I can't believe the boss made us come in early. He knows we don't do day crowd!" One of them whined.

"I know! I mean really! There's not even anybody here!" Jennifer looked around, and stared a hole through us for a long time. "Hey wait! Look girls! Over there!"

"Oh my gosh!" One of them gasped. "That's… That's… Kyle Gray! The famous Pokemon Master!"

Jennifer ran up to us, ignoring me and thrusting her bosoms out. "I've wanted to meet you for soooo long. You're the guy who beat the Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn leagues right?" She leaned down. "And now you're here competing in Sinnoh? That's so cool." She swooned.

I can't say I wasn't surprised. Because I was. Someone beating not one, but three leagues was unheard of. I just wished I had heard it from him. Kyle looked at me oddly as the girls swarmed him. I got up and walked out. I couldn't take this again. I hated those girls. I hated them for showing up then. I walked out the door I sighed. _But then again, what man wouldn't love a bunch of maids falling all over them?_ I crossed my arms and kicked the dirt under my feet.

"Shonna! Wait up!" Kyle walked up behind me. "You left me with the check, and that's fine, but I've gotta be honest. I'm running a bit dry on my cash flow. So don't do that again." He laughed. "The last thing I want is to be washing dishes with a bunch of whores."

I turned, speechless. _Did he just say what I thought he said? Heck, the fact he was out here with me instead of in there with the big boobs trio was something in itself, but did he just call them whores?_

"You're not like other guys are you Kyle?" I smiled as I looked up at him, which wasn't very far, as I had almost caught up with him in height.

"I don't like to think so." He smiled. "Most guys are dumb."

"Well, I'm glad we agree." I smiled back.


	4. Decisions, Decisions!

**x-x-x**

Episode 3: Decisions Decisions!

We stood there and talked for hours, though it only felt like minutes. I giggled at his jokes, and felt that old familiar twist and turn in my stomach. Like dozens of butterfrees were inside it. I was pretty sure I blushed, though I denied it to myself. And although I knew the time was flying, the last thing I wanted to do was leave.

"So, you're going on to the next city, for a badge?" I looked down.

"Yes. I don't have too many more to go. Do you have like a map of Sinnoh or something? I'm having trouble getting around here."

"Oh yeah sure. It was a lot of help to have you guide me through Kanto. I'll bet you made lots of friends to help you through Johto and Hoenn."

"Nope." He said flatly. "Just me, myself and my pokemon."

"Nobody at all?"

"Nobody."

I didn't know what to say really. I know he had his pokemon, but…

"Didn't you get lonely?" I asked.

"Sometimes. I missed you the most." He blushed.

I blushed also. "Um… I," I knew I had to apologize. "I'm sorry for the way I acted back then. I just knew I had to come home, and didn't want to make it any harder."

"The Sinnoh region's nice, from what I've seen of it." He changed the subject. "Have you competed in their league yet?"

"No." I looked down. "The whole pokemon master thing was kinda just a one time shot thing for me, ya know? I lost, so that's that."

"You shouldn't give up just like that."

"Eh, not like I'd win anyway. You're competing mister three time champion." I teased.

"Yeah, but you'd beat me."

I laughed. "Yeah right. Against a pokemon master?"

"Sure. You almost did in Kanto." He sounded honest, though I still had my doubts.

"I guess, but I bet you've caught a few more pokemon since then."

"Maybe. But I still have someone who wants to see you." He pulled the pokeball necklace out from under his shirt. It looked like the strap had been changed. He pressed the button on the ball, and Arcanine stepped out. He looked older too. His hair was thicker, and he had a wise look in his eyes.

"Aww, Arcanine!" I hugged him, nuzzling into his soft fur.

"Arf!" I saw his fluffy tail wave behind me.

"Hey," I looked over at Kyle. "I know it's not far, but can we ride on him back to the center? For old time's sake?"

"Sure." He pet Arcanine. "He'd probably like that."

We rode on Arcanine's back as he strolled back down the hill into town. I remembered hiding in his thick fur during our jailbreak in Kanto. He felt so warm, being a strong fire type helped with that I suppose, but it also felt very comforting on him, like something I'd felt a long time ago…

"What are you thinking about?" Kyle asked.

"Just old times." I smiled. We arrived at the Day Care Center, and I slid off Arcanine's back. "Come on in and I'll get you that map."

Mary nodded as I came in. Stephen glared at us, but turned away when I looked back at him. I walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out an old map of Sinnoh. It was a bit outdated, but still good. I handed it to Kyle, and he put it in his new black backpack.

"Well, thank you for this." He looked down sadly. "I'll let you get back to work. It was nice seeing you again Shonna." He started walking toward the door.

I felt my throat clench as I watched him walk away. I'd had so much fun talking to him again. In fact, it didn't even feel like three years had passed. I didn't want that to end. Not again. Everything in me told me I couldn't let it happen again.

"Wait Kyle!" I shouted, not stopping to think about it. "I want to go with you!"

Mary and Stephen looked at me shocked. Kyle looked surprised as well.

"I umm… I want to take my Sinnoh journey, and I'd like to travel with you."

"You really mean that?" He smiled widely.

"Wait a minute!" Stephen burst out. "You can't leave! You've got work to do."

"I'm afraid he's right dear, we need you here. I don't think I can grant you a leave now." Mary said dejectedly.

I hung my head, feeling stupid for even suggesting it. A bell rang on the door as he walked in.

"Don't be silly Mary. If she wants to go on a pokemon journey again, let her." John commented.

"John? What are you doing here? Go back home, you're sick." Mary stood.

"Nonsense. I'm fine. And so are we. We ran this place without her for years, we can certainly manage while she goes on this journey." John winked at me.

"John, are you sure about this?" I smiled.

"Sure, with me, Mary, and Stephen, we'll be fine. You deserve a break from all this." John smiled. I saw Stephen in the back jaw-dropped.

"I suppose you're right." Mary smiled. "You do deserve to do something different. We'll be waiting for you when you get back though."

I grinned from ear to ear. Kyle smiled as well. "Thank you both so much! I have a book over there that explains everything you'll need to know, though I know you know most of it. It's mostly for Stephen."

"Say what?' Stephen looked confused. "You're really leaving with… that guy?"

"Yep!"

"But, but, what am I supposed to do?"

"You can start by scooping up the poop outside. I fed the pokemon extra well today." I giggled as I walked out the door into the field. Kyle followed me. I couldn't see, but I could tell Stephen was utterly shocked by the prospect of him actually having to work with the pokemon. I walked out into field and saw Pichu and Pikachu playing.

"Pichu! Come on, we're going now." Kyle pat his shoulder motioning for him to come to him.

"Pi? Pi…" Pichu kept playing with his mom.

"Pi! Pika!" Pikachu hugged Pichu.

"Looks like they're not ready to leave." I bent down to their level. "Pichu. Would you like to stay here with your mom and help out at the center?"

"Pi!" Pichu nodded.

"You mean I finally can get rid of him?" Kyle joked. I knew deep down he was probably a little sad to leave him. I watched as he pet on his head. "You take care then. I'll see you again sometime."

I smiled at the touching scene. But where was Riolu? I looked around the field until I spied him running around the pond. Starly was chasing after him. Every now and then she jumped and flapped her wings for a bit.

"Starly!" I walked over to them. "You're recuperating nicely. I made a note to Mary to release you back into the wild in a couple weeks. Looks like you're about ready." She cocked her head and stared at me. "Riolu, come on, we're going on an adventure!"

"Lu!" Riolu jumped into my arms. I said goodbye to the rest of my pokemon and walked over to the gate. I kept Rapidash's and Riolu's pokeballs in my purse, but I other than that, fresh ones. Kyle was waiting for me beside the gate. I saw him throw out Umbreon.

"Would you mind if I left Umbreon here?" He asked. "I already cleared it with the old couple."

"Mary and John?" I pushed my hair behind my ear. "If they're fine with it I am. I'm sure Vaporeon would like that." I watched as Umbreon walked over to the pond and Vaporeon and him happily greeted each other. "It's settled then." I turned back to Kyle who had an odd, soft look on his face.

"I'm so glad you're going with me." He said tenderly. "I really missed having you around."

"Um, yeah. I'm sorry I'm holding you up though, I still need to get all those badges."

"It's okay. It's worth it." He laughed. "So, where are you going to start?"

"Sandgem Town. I need to visit a guy named Professor Rowan."

"That's pretty far away from here." Kyle sulked. "We could take my bike, but I don't know how far it will get us. It needs some repairs."

"Really?" That surprised me. "Well uh, I had a different idea anyway." I took a deep breath. "Aerodactyl!"

A whooshing sound swept over us as the flapping of the giant Aerodactyl's wings pushed back my hair. She landed beside us. "I use Aerodactyl to fly me places sometimes."

"Sweet." He stared up at the dinosaur. "Have you trained it?"

"No… I pat Aerodactyl before hopping on her back. "I found out she doesn't really like to battle."

"That's too bad." Kyle hopped on as well. "She'd be a good one."

"Yeah, but you gotta do what your pokemon want right?" I looked over at Pichu, who was waving at Kyle. "All right then, go Aerodactyl! To Sandgem Town!" Aerodactyl raised up, and began floating into the air.

**x-x-x**

Starly watched as the Pichu waved from the fencepost.

"Star? Why are you waving?" She hopped over on her legs.

"Pi? Didn't you know?" Pichu looked down at her. "They're leaving. But I'm staying here to help out mommy. That's why I'm waving." Pichu smiled, not noticing Starly's dismay.

"As in forever?" Starly stiffened.

"Well no." Pichu hopped down from the post as gusts from the Aerodactyl pushed him. "But for a long time." He rolled around the field.

"No!" Starly clung to the fence as she watched Aerodactyl take off. "Wait for me! I wanna come too!" Starly walked forward, struggling to move in the wind. She stretched out her wings, which only made it harder not to fall backward, but she flapped them wildly, and slowly floated into the air. She painfully latched onto the Aerodactyl's tail and began slipping on its scaly skin. "Star-Ly!"

**x-x-x**

"Hmm?" I turned to see the tiny starly holding to Aerodactyl's tail. "Oh my gosh! Starly!" I crawled over and scooped up the exhausted bird.

"Star…" She relaxed in my arms.

"Did you fly all the way up here after me?" I watched shocked.

"Star!" Starly looked tired, but proud.

"What cha got there?" Kyle scooted over to look.

"A starly I've been taking care of." I looked back to Starly. "But why? You want to come with me?"

"Ly!" Starly seemed to smile.

"Here I thought you wanted to go back to the wild. Well okay Starly, you can come with me on my journey." I removed the splint from her wing. "But it looks like you don't need this anymore." I pulled out a pokeball and pressed it to her head. It shook three times before clicking closed, making her mine.

"How do you like that, I got a starly." I smiled as I put the ball back in my purse.


	5. A Nab in the Lab!

**x-x-x**

Episode 4: A Nab in the Lab!

We arrived in Sandgem quickly. The small beach at the end of the town glistened in the sun but I didn't come to sunbathe, I came for the pokemon lab.

I sent Aerodactyl back home when we arrived and watched as she flew away. Kyle and I walked up to the door of the pokemon lab. It looked dark inside.

"Are you sure it's open?" Kyle questioned.

"It should be." I slowly opened the door and walked into the dark lab. We heard a commotion in the back as we walked to the rear of the room. A man dressed in bright white with a green mushroom like haircut stood laughing. It didn't look like he'd seen us. We saw Professor Rowan and his fellow researchers tied up in the corner. I felt a familiar sense of déjà vu as Kyle called out Arcanine.

"Arcanine! Heat Wave!" Aracanine released an awesome amount of heat that I was glad not to be on the receiving end of.

"Huh?" The man looked down at his butt. "My pants are on fire!" He hit the ground and began rolling his behind around. "You stupid kids! You're too late if you're trying to stop me. I already got the rare Spiritomb!" He leaped out the window, but Arcanine grabbed him by the seat of his pants, pulling him back in. "Hey let go of me you mutt!"

"Arr…" Arcanine growled, letting out a small ember on the man.

"Ack! I'm sorry! Ouch! Ouch!" He squealed.

I untied the Professor and used it to tie up the smoldering man.

"We're getting good at this stopping bad guys thing aren't we?" Kyle laughed. He returned his still grumbling Arcanine.

We walked over to the researchers and pulled away the clothes on their mouths. The helper's coughed and looked scared, Professor Rowan merely stared at me.

"Wonderful work, but I'm afraid you let him get away." He twisted his moustache.

"What?" We turned to see the man still bound, but his zubat was flying him out the window and away. "Oh no!"

"That means he got away with that rare pokemon." Kyle said annoyed.

"That thief didn't get away with anything." Professor Rowan turned away, and motioned for his helpers to leave. "He came in here to steal a Spiritomb that was sent to us recently. After his fruitless threats, I handed him the pokeball. He doesn't know it's empty."

"Bad guys are so stupid." I giggled.

"He was a member of Team Galactic. He'll probably be back sometime, so I need to inform the police. I do thank you both for trying." He started walking away.

"Hey wait!" I jumped in front of him. "I called you when I was ten, about getting a starter pokemon. Course I didn't get around to starting then, but I am now. The offer still stands right?"

"Ah yes, I remember you. The one with the disgruntle Skitty. But heavens! That was several years ago!" Professor Rowan's eyes grew wide. "You were top four in the Kanto tournament right? Not to mention that Riolu asleep on your shoulder. I know you have pokemon."

"Doesn't matter." I puffed out my cheeks angrily. "You promised!"

"Fine whatever." Professor Rowan gave in. "Come back here." We followed him into a room where three pokemon sat on the table. A piplup and chimchar playfully fought each other, while a turtwig relaxed, eating from his food bowl. "Well, here they are, have your pick." The pokemon straightened up and stared at me happily, awaiting my decision.

"Hmm." I had a good look at the lot. I don't really like monkeys, so Chimchar's out. I began thinking about the torterra I fought in Celadon. I stared at the little turtle with the crumbs around his mouth. "I want the turtwig."

"Very well." Professor Rowan reached over and put Turtwig in a pokeball for me. He handed it to me and looked over at Kyle. "Do you want one son?"

"Oh me?" He looked surprised. "No thanks."

"Suit yourself." He pushed us out the door. "Now then, I must carry on with important research." He shut the door and we found ourselves outside again.

"How come you didn't want one? You could have. You've started a Sinnoh journey too." I asked confused.

"I have a new starter. Only for Kanto." He stated.

"Oh? A Kanto starter?" I tried to remember what they were.

"A charmander. Professor Oak tracked me down and made me pick one. I don't mind though. I like my charmander. I didn't like any of the ones in there."

"That's neat. What other pokemon do you have there?" I stared at the two pokeballs on his belt.

"It's a surprise. You'll just have to battle me sometime and find out." He grinned.

"Oh really." I smirked. "Yeah I'll have to do that."


	6. Jubilife’s Oppurtunities!

**x-x-x**

Episode 5: Jubilife's Oppurtunities!

We arrived in Jubilife City in what seemed like no time. It was a short walk away from Sandgem, and the gleaming skyscrapers stood tall in front of us.

"There's no gym here, so let's move on." Kyle looked nervous.

"Why?" I looked back at him. "I wanna look around."

"Lu!" Riolu pointed at a tall building.

"Yeah! The Poketch Company! Good idea Riolu." I walked toward the building. "There's a lot of cool stuff in this city Kyle. Even if there's not a gym, there's poketchs, a global pokemon trading center, and even a tv broadcasting company!"

I saw Kyle stiffen. I walked into the poketch company, and picked up the blue watch.

"Umm, you know that's a boy's watch right?" An employee walked up to me.

"I want this one." I handed it to him.

"Don't you want the pink one though?" He walked behind the register.

"She already told you she wants that one." Kyle approached the employee. "Besides, it matches her outfit. That's why she wants it, right?" Kyle glanced over at me.

"Exactly." I nodded as I laid the money down on the counter. "But I'm surprised you noticed."

The employee looked at both of us before taking the money and ringing up the watch. He simply shook his head as he handed me the change.

"Thanks," I said as I put the change in my bag and wrapped the watch around my wrist. "I like it." I played with the various buttons and gizmos as we walked out.

"Now can we go?" Kyle pleaded.

"But I want to get a better view of the city!" I whined.

"Lu!" Riolu pointed at the tallest building in the city.

"You're on the money Riolu! Let's check out the city from the Jubilife TV Station roof!" I grinned.

"No. Please don't make me go in there."

"What's wrong with you Kyle?" I gave him the puppy dog eyes. "I really want to."

"Fine, but… can we take the elevator?" Kyle sulked.

"Yeah, sure." When we walked in the building. Kyle ran to the elevator and hustled into it. He held the door as I took my time walking in. He pressed the button for the rooftop and leaned against the corner. It was a long wait, but we finally reached the top. The door opened and the wind blew through my hair.

"Lu!" Riolu hopped down and ran to the edge. There was a chained gate around the observation deck.

"Be careful Riolu!" I ran after him, and looked out over the edge. "Wow, it's so pretty. You can see the whole city from here Kyle!" I saw him walk up behind me.

"Yeah, it is nice." I saw him smile, and felt a little better. A sudden gust of wind blew me back, but I was quickly supported by Kyle's arm around my waist. We looked at each other, and I turned back to the view, feeling embarrassed. Kyle wrapped his arm around me, and since I didn't complain, he left it there. We looked out at the view, and beyond the city, we could see Mt. Coronet far in the distance. It's the highest mountain in Sinnoh, and it stretched high into the clouds, which were swirling, and an odd color of purple. It's been like that forever, but I've always thought it looked strange, like a bad storm. You could feel the whipping wind from it all around Sinnoh. I looked at Riolu, who had a scared look on his face. He closed his eyes tight, and clung to my leg. The next part, was completely new to me.

I saw the purple storm, and two pokemon, or was there three? I definitely saw two, they were fighting, and crying in pain. A black haze appeared, and engulfed the vision.

I stepped back, feeling a bit drained. I felt Kyle move his arm.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I saw it. I saw two pokemon fighting. They're causing that storm. They're in pain."

"What are you saying?" Kyle turned toward me. "How do you know?"

I looked down at Riolu. "He told me. Riolu showed it to me." Riolu just looked up at me sadly.

"Telepathy?" Kyle looked at Riolu as well. "Well I've heard of Lucario and Riolu using it, so it's possible."

"Yeah." I sighed. "Those pokemon… they need help."

"Hey." Kyle walked around to be in front of me. "We to have pass through there anyway, we'll see what's going on."

"Yeah, okay." I frowned, picking up Riolu. "I'm sorry I drug you up here. Let's go." I walked over to the elevator and stepped inside. We pressed the button to the lobby and the elevator began its descent. It stopped abruptly at the 8th floor. We looked up as the door opened and a woman in a fancy business suit and short brown hair walked in. A cameraman followed her inside. He took one look at my Riolu and shuddered.

"Come on Charlie! Keep up! We've got to get that scoop on the storm at Mt. Coronet." She looked up at us. "Oh my gosh! Forget that dangerous storm! We've got the Pokemon Master Kyle Gray here in the flesh!"

"Oh no." Kyle hid behind me.

"Charlie! Get the camera going!" The woman pushed me out of the way, sticking her microphone in Kyle's face. "This is Jubilife TV's Jane here reporting to you live from the elevator of our very own station. We've had a stroke of luck and run into the illusive, but ever so charming pokemon master, Kyle Gray!"

"Charming?" I giggled. "Who'd you hear that from?"

"Shut up! You'll ruin my interview." Jane glared. "Now! Kyle, can you give us a few words? You're in Sinnoh, does this mean you'll be competing in the Sinnoh league?"

"Yes…" Kyle sulked.

"Excellent! I'm sure you'll be working your way through the gym leaders then! Have you got any badges yet?"

Kyle didn't say anything.

"Yeah." I answered. "Just how many do you have?"

"Hush." He looked at me angrily.

"Huh?" I shut up.

Jane kept asking questions, but neither Kyle nor I would answer. We stayed quiet until the elevator finally released us at the lobby. Jane and her cameraman followed.

"Please stop Kyle!" Jane called. "This is my big exclusive!"

"We need a distraction." Kyle whispered to me as we kept walking.

"Got it." I looked over at Riolu.

"Lu!" Riolu hopped on the camera, covering the lens. Charlie dropped the camera scared. Kyle took off running.

"No wait! You're my promotion Kyle!" Jane turned to me. "Get that thing off the camera!"

"Oh shoot. He got away." I snickered as I watched Charlie shake all over. I guessed he was scared of pokemon.

"B-But." Charlie stuttered as he watched Riolu chew on the camera handle.

"You idiot it's just a little Riolu!" Jane looked to me. "Get it off."

"Fine fine." I pulled Riolu off. Charlie warily picked up the camera.

"Great, he's gone." Jane looked around sadly.

"That's too bad. You could always interview me though. I don't mind." I smiled. I wanted to be on tv.

"Why would I do that, I don't even know you. You ruined it!" She got right up in my face.

"I'll have you know I was in the top four of the Kanto league!" I yelled back.

"Top four…" Jane paused. "That's diddly-squat compared to a three time champion!" She motioned to Charlie. "C'mon, he couldn't have gotten too far!" Charlie sighed as he reluctantly followed Jane.

"Diddly-squat…" I lowered my head. "I thought it was good." I looked up at the sunset, and wondered where Kyle had run off to. How would I find him? I would have starly fly around and look for him, but I wasn't sure if she was ready for that. I stood there thinking about it as the sky darkened. I began walking around and I saw a small light. A tiny flame in the distance. I walked over to it, and saw it was a charmander. "A charmander?" I followed the light on its tail down the streets into the forest. Leaving the street lights and going into the dark forest meant the charmander's tail was the only light around me. Riolu clung to my neck.

Soon another flame came into view, and I saw Kyle and Arcanine sitting by a fire. Charmander waddled over to them.

"Good job Charmander." Kyle pet the pokemon's head before recalling it.

"So that was your Charmander huh?" I sat beside him in front of the fire. I gently leaned against Arcanine, who was laying down behind us. Arcanine barked softly and wrapped his tail around me. "You have such good pokemon." I pulled out a pair of poffins and gave one to Arcanine and Riolu. The pokemon munched on them happily.

"Yeah, they're great." He pet on Arcanine as it ate.

I sat the box of poffins back in my bag. I couldn't resist nuzzling into Arcanine's fur. It felt so warm.

"You started to tell me something, back in your hometown, something about Arcanine that was familiar?" Kyle scooted closer to me.

"Oh yeah." I looked away. "When I was really little, probably like… seven. Stephen was picking on me and pulling my pigtails. I ran from him, into the ruins, because I knew he'd be too scared to follow me. I ran in there, but I got lost, and couldn't get out. I cried and cried, until this big pokemon came up to me. My memory's fuzzy, and I don't remember what the pokemon looked like, I just remember I fell asleep in its fur, and it was really soft and warm. When I woke up the next morning I was at the entrance. I guess it carried me there."

Arcanine put his head down and closed his eyes.

"Once I got older, I looked for the pokemon, but I never saw it in the ruins again. I just know, someday I'd like to have a pokemon like this. One you could curl up on…" I fell asleep to the sounds of the forest, and the gentle crackling of the fire.


	7. The Sneaky Shinx!

**x-x-x**

Episode 6: The Sneaky Shinx!

I awoke the next morning hitting my head against the ground. "Ouch." I looked up to see Arcanine standing on all fours and looking around for something. He put his nose to the ground, and walked into the nearby bushes. Kyle woke up and yawned, watching the scenario.

"Shinx! Shinx!" I heard a cry as Arcanine brought out the tiny Shinx in his mouth, carrying him by the neck. In the Shinx's mouth, was a poffin.

"Huh?" I looked down to see my bag ransacked and my box of poffins left with only crumbs. "Well, looks like we have a thief in our midst." I stood and walked over to the Shinx, who was shaking scared.

"You know… I would have just gave it to you, if you'd been polite." I pet the Shinx's head. He looked relieved that he was not going to get reprimanded. "Go ahead and put him down Arcanine." Arcanine set the cub down gently. The Shinx turned, to walk away. "Hold it!" I called. "You can't just leave, you've got to fight me." I pulled out a pokeball.

"Shinx!" The shinx turned back to me and growled, letting off some sparks.

"Feisty one isn't he?" Kyle commented. Arcanine walked over to his side.

I thought to myself. _Rapidash was at so high of a level. He'd kill the thing. Riolu probably would too. Starly was not a good matchup. That left my new Turtwig, which I hadn't got to work with yet. I doubt it knows anything past level ten, but it's the best match against an electric._

"Go Turtwig, use Tackle, right off the bat!" I called out to the tiny turtle and it ran full speed, crashing into Shinx.

"Shinx!" The cub growled before charging up some stored energy.

"Turtwig! Absorb!" Turtwig drained away at Shinx's energy little by little.

"Shi-Shinx!" Shinx angrily let off a mass of sparks.

"Uh oh! Look out Turtwig!" I called, hoping it would dodge. The little turtle looked scared, and closed his eyes before letting out sharp leaves that countered. The leaves struck each spark, and eventually hit Shinx, hurting it badly.

"Awesome Turtwig! You used your first Razor Leaf!" I cheered.

"Turt? Twig!" Turtwig seemed happy.

"Alright now Pokeball go!" I threw the pokeball with surprising accuracy, considering it'd been a while. The pokeball hit the Shinx, and wobbled on the ground before shutting closed. "Yay! I caught a Shinx."

"I didn't know you were going to try and catch it." Kyle said hesitantly. "You sure you want to have a Shinx that steals in your party?"

"Aw don't worry, I'll teach it to not steal from us. Besides, didn't you see? It's so cute!" I squealed as I picked up the ball.

Kyle laughed. "I guess."

"It was!" I rewarded Turtwig with some praise before recalling him.

"I think you just like cats." Kyle smiled slyly.

"Well yes. Except Purugly. I don't like those." I chuckled thinking about it. "Well since we're all good and awake, do you want to get going?"

"Sure." Kyle threw his backpack over his shoulder. "I'm ready if you are."

"Kay. There's a cave up ahead." I packed up my stuff and we headed for the cave.


	8. Crushed Rocks and Roark's Crush!

**x-x-x**

Episode 7: Crushed Rocks and Roark's Crush!

"You sure this is a cave?" Kyle laughed. "Looks more like a tunnel."

"You're right." I chuckled. "I can see the light already."

"Lu!" Riolu held to my neck.

"You know, I'm surprised Riolu hasn't evolved yet." Kyle said as he looked over at us.

"Same goes for you and Pichu." I snickered. "Were you mean to him?"

"N-no! You know I wasn't." He said angrily.

I giggled at him. "Me either. And I know Pichu just probably didn't want to evolve. Another one of those things he takes after his father with." I paused, looking at Riolu. "For me, we're plenty friendly enough, I just haven't been training him a lot, and when I do, I do at night, that way I know he won't evolve."

"How come? Don't you want him to evolve?" Kyle looked puzzled.

"I know I should, because he can't learn anything else as a Riolu, but I'm just so afraid."

"Lu?" Riolu tilted his head curiously.

"It's just, I've seen what evolving can do. It completely changed Skitty. It made my timid ponyta a heroic steed. And I know all that was for the better, but I just don't know if I want Riolu to change at all." I sighed.

"Well then don't evolve him." Kyle stated. "Put an everstone on him and don't worry about it."

"I guess that makes sense, but I know Riolu doesn't want that. He wants to evolve."

Kyle didn't say anything to that. By now, we'd walked through the tunnel, and my eyes took a moment to adjust to the light. This city was not as big as Jubilife, and it also was not near as pretty. The ground was dirty, and exhaust from construction equipment floated in the air.

"What an icky looking city." I'd never been here before.

"Yes. The gym's right over here." Kyle pointed at a small building nearby. There was a sign posted on the door that read, "Sorry, out at the mine. Be back soon." Kyle crossed his arms. "It said that when I came through here too. I had to wait around here three hours before he came back."

"Three hours?" I whined. "That's too long." I looked toward the huge mines. "Well, let's just go find him." I started walking, and Kyle followed. A man in a hard hat greeted us.

"Hello youngsters! You here for the public pass? It'll be five dollars for each of yas."

"We're really just looking for the gym leader. He said he'd be here." I said hesitantly.

"You mean Roark? Yeah I saw him go in earlier. I can't let you in without a pass, and the public one only gets you so far in the mines. But you never know, you just might find him back there." The man held out his hand, insistent on the money. I handed him ten dollars, and he gave us a pair of hard hats and mining kits. He instructed us to put them in a box beside the exit when we were done. We flicked the lights on our hats on, as we walked into the dark mines.

There were not very many people in the mine, but it was dull and dark in the front of it. We walked as far back as they would allow, and saw no sign of the gym leader Roark. "Well, now what?" I asked.

"Now? We dig." Kyle picked away at the cave walls with a pickaxe.

"For real?" I pulled out a hammer. "I guess if I wastes time." I hit away at the wall, finding nothing but more dirt. It was the same luck for a good fifteen minutes. "I'm not finding much. Are you Kyle?"

When I heard no answer I turned to look at him. He was filling a bucket with pretty gems and jewels. "Oh, just a few things." He winked.

"Aw. You suck." I complained. I hit the hammer hard against the wall in frustration. The force shook loose a large ugly dirt-covered rock. I sighed. "All I got was a crappy hunk of dirt."

"On contraire." A man said as he approached me. He had shoulder length red hair and glasses. He picked up my rock and dusted it off, rubbing a wet cloth on it. Underneath a thick dirt layer, a bright yellow shone. "You've got there a nice thunder stone." He handed it back to me and glanced at Kyle's bucket. "All he has are some colored gems. They're pretty, but they won't sell for much."

I was standing there, wondering who the young man was, when Kyle rose to greet him.

"It's about time we found you. Hanging out here collecting fossils instead of working in your gym again?"

"I remember you." Roark frowned. "I'll have you know I was actually called here on official business. There's a pokemon here that's causing some problems."

"Really?" I stared at him curiously.

"Yes," Roark looked concerned. "I haven't found him yet though. I think it may be in the deeper and darker areas of the mine."

"Well, we'll help you look. We have lots of fire types to light the way." I glanced over at Kyle, who nodded.

Roark allowed us to follow him to the rear of the cave. It got darker and darker with each step. We released Arcanine, Rapidash, and Charmander to light the way. Soon, the path forked into three tunnels.

"We could split up, if one of you would let me borrow one of your pokemon." Roark looked back at us.

"All right. Arcanine, go with him for a while." Kyle said to his confident dog, who nodded back at him. We all split up, taking the different paths. I walked up the path with Rapidash only a short while before discovering a dead end.

**x-x-x**

Kyle walked up the path for what seemed like forever. He didn't like letting Arcanine go with Roark, but he knew he could take care of himself. Besides, Charmander seemed uneasy in the dark mine. When they saw a large room like enclosure at the back of the tunnel, they stopped and looked around. "Dead end. Guess we better head back Charmander." Kyle turned to leave, but Charmander remained in the center of the room.

"Char…" Charmander looked around, scared.

"Charmander? What's wrong?" Kyle listened carefully, hearing a rock nearby fall to the ground. He looked up, to see a shining above him.

"Skar!" The skarmory dove in, crashing into Charmander hard.

"Char!" Charmander fell backwards onto his back.

"Charmander!" Kyle called. The little dragon stood, reassuring him he was okay.

Skarmory began thrashing about in cave, knocking large rocks down from the ceiling.

"Charmander! Use a smokescreen!" Kyle commanded. With that, Charmander coughed out a thick smoke. The skarmory, unable to see, floated down to the ground. "Okay Charmander! Now use Ember!" Even though the fire attack was weak, Skarmory's steel and flying type matchup made sure the attack greatly hurt it.

"Skar!" It flopped to the ground with a thud.

"Great job Charmander." Charmander went to his side while Kyle pulled out an ultra ball. The ball hit its mark, and wobbled on the ground before shutting closed. Kyle walked over and picked up the pokeball. "Well, you won't be causing any more trouble here."

**x-x-x**

Roark and I waited patiently at the mine's entrance, I threw that awful hard hat in the box and ran my hand through my thick blonde hair. I caught Roark staring at me. He turned away quickly.

"You know," He said embarrassed. "I could wash that thunder stone off for you."

"Oh, no that's okay. I'll do it later." I wrapped the dirty stone in some paper.

"Are you sure?" He looked at me surprised.

"Yeah. I don't particularly like it, but I don't mind getting dirty. I work at a pokemon day-care center, so I'm kind of used to it." I thought I saw him swoon. "Can I ask you something?" I pat Arcanine's side, not really looking at Roark.

"S-sure." He said uneasily.

"When this is over with, maybe we could… well you know." I smiled.

Roark's face brightened. "I know this great little place that would be perfect."

"Your gym right?" I looked at him with a confused look. "I thought you had to have gym battles there for them to be official."

"Oh! A gym battle. Yeah. Of course." Roark turned away sulking.

"Well what'd you think I was talking about?" I asked, knowing full well what it was.

"Oh, nothing. Sorry." He kept looking away, until he saw Kyle come out the cave's entrance. I noticed he was carrying an ultra ball in his hands.

"What was it?" I asked, running up to him.

"A skarmory." He said coolly.

"A skarmory?" Roark looked stunned. "That's not right. Skarmory are definitely not native to this area. It must have got lost and flew into the mines."

"That sounds about right." Kyle attached the ball to his belt. "It looked pretty disoriented. I wonder where it came from."

"Certainly not around here." Roark began walking toward the city. "Thank you for helping get that pokemon out. I'm sure it'll be much happier now." He looked over to me. "And Shonna, was it? You're welcome to head over to my gym whenever you're ready." He headed out the mine's gates.

"Well, he won't have long to wait. Come on Kyle." I ran ahead a bit and turned, he wasn't following. "Hey! Aren't you coming?"

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'm going to go cash in these gems. I know it won't be much, but I could use the extra money." After setting down his hat, he returned Arcanine to the ball around his neck, and picked up the bucket of gems.

"Oh, okay. No biggie." I put my hands behind my back and swayed from side to side playfully. "Just come see me when you get done then." I ran off toward the gym, eagerly running up the stone steps, and pulling open the doors. "Roark! I'm here! Sorry if I didn't give you enough time to rest or anything!" I walked into the gym foyer, which was something like a museum, filled with footprints and fossils from pokemon. I stopped and looked around at the exhibits.

"Wonderful isn't it?" Roark came up behind me. "This is the stuff I collect in the mines. These are the ones that can't be made into pokemon."

"Yeah! I always thought stuff like this was interesting." I smiled.

"Really?" Roark smiled back. "It's hard to find a girl that isn't bored by my findings."

"Roark…" I didn't know what to say, but I suddenly was wishing Kyle had came with me.

"Listen, are you and that guy… dating?" Roark asked softly.

"Well no. Not exactly." I looked down, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Then, you're free?"

"I wouldn't say that either." I put my hands on my hips, not liking where this was going. Riolu sensed my tension and let out a low growl at Roark.

"Sorry." Roark held up his hands in defense. "I guess it was a stupid idea, thinking I could get a date with a girl as pretty as you." When I didn't say anything, he continued. "All the girls around here think poorly of me. In fact…" He put his hand behind his head. "They call me the 'dirty and nerdy' guy."

"Well… I don't think that, but…" I looked away.

"That's why I thought I stood a chance, but it's okay. I understand." He smiled. "Let's go in here, and start that battle."

"Thanks." I laughed nervously.

We walked into a large stadium, and it was littered with rocks. Once again, I was facing a rock type gym leader. I knew as I took my spot on this stage, that I was much more prepared for this fight than last time.

"I will use three pokemon, you can use however many you like." Roark stated, before throwing out his first. A geodude.

Shinx is no good, and starly would have trouble as well. That leaves Riolu, Rapidash, and Turtwig. I knew who needed the experience. "Go Turtwig!" The turtle came out and playfully gnawed on my head, as I sign of affection. "Okay Turtwig," I pulled him off and set him down. "Go give it a tackle!" The turtle rushed forward after Geodude.

"Geodude! Tackle back!" Roark called. The rock tackled into Turtwig, and with a stronger tackle, knocked him back.

"Twig!" Turtwig frantically tried to flip himself. He was stuck on his back.

"Turtwig! Don't panic! Withdraw!"

"Geodude Rollout!"

Turtwig pushed himself into his shell, taking the rollout hit with little damage, and merely knocking himself back right side up. He pushed out his legs and head happily.

"Now Turtwig! Absorb some of its energy, and lay a good tackle into it!" I cried.

Turtwig drained some of Geodude's energy. Enough to prevent it from dodging the tackle attack that sent it flying across the room, and knocked it out. Roark recalled it and sent out an Onix. "Onix! Bind!" The giant rock snake grabbed Turtwig, squeezing him tight.

"Turtwig! Withdraw and use Razor Leaf!" I called.

Turtwig drew into his shell once more, reducing damage. He also released a flurry of sharp leaves from every crevice of his shell, hitting Onix hard. The onix couldn't take the strong grass attack, and fainted.

"That's so cool. He's already taken out two. My turtwig must have strong attack skills." I watched as he fell on his shell to the ground, but when he popped out, he was passed out. We both recalled our pokemon.

"Last one, go Cranidos!" Roark called, letting the rocky dinosaur go.

"Okay Riolu." I looked over at the pokemon draped over my shoulders. He looked surprised. "You're up." He hopped down and ran out into the stage happily.

"Lu!" He stood confidently in front of the Cranidos, which only glared back at him, kicking its back leg.

"Cranidos! Pursuit!" Roark called. The cranidos frantically chased after Riolu, but Riolu was much quicker, and hopped from rock to rock avoiding him. He stood on a tall rock at the edge of the stadium. "Get it down with Headbutt!" At Roark's command, the cranidos smashed into the rock, breaking it into pieces that flew into the air. Riolu gracefully leaped up and punched each rock fragment that came near him. He turned his nose down, and slammed into Cranidos hard. I found it amazing that mine and Riolu's aura was getting so in tuned, that I didn't even have to issue him commands. He knew what I wanted from him. Riolu stepped to the side, as Cranidos got to his feet. "Cranidos! Heatbutt again!" Roark called. This time, Cranidos aimed straight for Riolu. Riolu calmly held up his paws, bracing for the impact. He caught Cranidos's forceful body, and was pushed back by the powerful headbutt. He was pushed back so hard it caused dirt and rocks to slide up around his hind legs, but he eventually pulled to a stop.

"Lu." Riolu grinned at the confused Cranidos before laying a mighty Force Palm attack into its head. The Cranidos fell over, and fainted. Roark quickly recalled it. A bright white light shone around Riolu.

"Awesome! Your Riolu's going to evolve!" Roark watched eagerly.

"Oh no!" I checked my Poketch. 4:00. "No Riolu! Please don't!" I screamed.

The light around Riolu dissipated and he turned to look at me. "Lu?" He gave his usual, adorable tilting of the head look, before running to my side.

"Hey, what's wrong? Don't you want it to evolve?" Roark asked.

"No… at least, not yet." I pet Riolu's head sadly.

"Well hey! I've got plenty of everstones from the mines, let me go back and get you one." Roark walked over to the doorway.

"No!" I snapped, then lowered my tone. "I don't know what I'm going to do yet. Thank you, but no thank you."

"Oh… okay." We walked through the foyer, and outside the gym, where I saw Kyle waiting, and stuffing something in his backpack.

"Hey! How'd it go?" Kyle asked.

"She did great. Beat me bad." Roark laughed as he handed me a black badge. "Here's the Coal Badge. You deserve it." He looked over at Kyle with a serious look on his face. "She's a nice girl. You take good care of her okay?" He walked back into the gym without another word.

"What was that about?" Kyle said puzzled.

"Eh, it's nothing." I sighed, picking up Riolu, who looked kind of disappointed. I gave him a poffin to cheer him up.

"You're not seeing someone behind my back are you?" Kyle said angrily.

"W-what?" I blushed. "What are you talking about?"

"Relax. I'm only joking." He laughed.

"Oh… heh. Hey, did you get anything from those gems?"

"Not really. Couple hundred. Nothing big."

"Oh that's too bad." I started walking toward the main path out of the town, but stopped quickly. A muddy mess of a hill was just a few feet away. "What is up with this city being so dirty! This is a regular landslide!" I looked back at Kyle who was giving me a very odd grin. "How do we get around this?"

"That. Looks. So. Fun!" He burst into this bizarre giddy dance. "I would love to take my bike up that, but it needs some major repairs first, so I can't." He sulked. "I don't think I have the money for it yet, and there's no place around here that will do the work."

"Uh… I guess we have no choice but to go back to Jubilife City. Maybe they'll have somebody who can fix it there." I smiled a fake smile.

"Yeah! You're right. Let's go see!" Kyle ran full speed back to the city, and I reluctantly followed.


	9. Roses Are Red, Violets are Lu!

**x-x-x**

Episode 8: Roses Are Red, Violets are Lu!

We rode on Arcanine to save time, and ended up in Jubilife in no time. We remained on Arcanine's back, and walked around the city. We stopped by a pokemon school to ask one of the teachers who was standing ouside, about Kyle's bike.

"Bike repairs?" The woman put a finger to her chin. "No… I think there's a shop in Eterna City though."

"Okay, thank you ma'am." I said politely as I turned to look at Kyle. "There's a gym in Eterna City too. Do you want to go there and see what they can do for your bike?"

"Sounds like a plan." Kyle nudged Arcanine to get him to turn north.

"I can't believe we got a stupid story on the pokemon school. This is rookie stuff Charlie!" I heard a voice behind us say. I turned around, seeing Jane and her cameraman Charlie, directly behind us. "Kyle! Another lucky break! Kyle! Please tell us about your recent exploits in Sinnoh!" I saw her and Charlie begin giving chase after us.

"Arcanine!" Kyle pat his dog's head. "Extreme Speed."

I gripped onto Arcanine's fur. We flew by, very fast. Faster than I remember Kyle's bike going. I'm sure we lost Jane in only seconds. We ended up at the entrance to another cave, this one leading to Eterna City.

"I didn't know Arcanine knew that move." I slid off Arcanine, and Kyle did likewise.

"I taught it to him recently, but it takes a lot out of him." Kyle led him to a nearby stream, where Arcanine lapped up the water.

"Lu." Riolu hopped down to get a drink as well. I checked out a signpost while I waited.

"Ravaged path? Looks just the same as any other cave to me."

When Arcanine was through with his drink, I saw Kyle return him. The cave entrance was kind of small, and we had to hunker down to go inside. Riolu followed close behind, but didn't get back on my shoulder. I wondered why.

As soon as we walked in, there was light to the right. I could tell it was a way out, but it was blocked by large rocks. Before I could say anything, I saw Riolu run up and smash the rocks.

"Lu!" He broke every last stone.

"Wow. Pretty cool." Kyle noted, before walking through the chamber.

"Yeah." I reached my arms out for Riolu, but he turned away. "Riolu?"

Kyle stood in the exit. "These caves just keep getting shorter and shorter huh?" He walked out, and me and Riolu followed. When I left the cave, the sun was setting, and a pale orange covered the town. But beyond that, was something much more beautiful. The entire town, was completely covered in flowers, of every kind and color.

"It's so pretty!" I felt my eyes sparkle. Kyle chuckled.

"I skipped right by this town, I'm guessing you don't want to?"

"No!" I gasped, looking around me in every direction.

"Lu!" Riolu ran out in the middle of the field of flowers, and flopped down, causing a flurry of petals to burst into the air.

"Floaroma Town. I've seen pictures, but it's so much more pretty in person."

"I bet it'll be even nicer in the morning. You want to stay here for tonight?"

"Yeah!" I smiled widely. We ran into the pokemon center. "C'mon Riolu!" I called out to him, and he smiled as he ran inside. We took a room in the back of the center. It was smaller than the others and only had one bunk bed. Kyle took the top, and I snuggled up on the bottom. "Riolu!" I pat the bed. "I made a place for you already."

Riolu looked at me sadly. He fumbled through my purse, until he found his pokeball. He pressed the button and sealed himself inside.

"Riolu?" I was so confused. _Why was he acting like this? He sleeps with me every night._ "Kyle… do you know what's wrong with Riolu?" I peeked up over his bed, but he was already asleep.

**x-x-x**

When I woke up the next morning, there was a hot coffee sitting on the desk, meaning Kyle was already awake. I yawned, and stretched out my toes before getting out of bed. I looked out the window, and gasped when I saw all the flowers outside. It took my breath away every time. I wondered who maintained them.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I heard Kyle say from the doorway behind me.

"Yeah. It's like a scene straight out of a storybook." I said happily, as I turned toward him. He approached me slowly.

"I was talking about you." He brushed back a piece of my hair behind my ear, as he pulled a purple lily from behind his back. He placed the lily in my hair gently. "I picked this for you, I thought it'd look nice with your outfit."

I blushed, and didn't hide it. I knew I'd wake up soon. "Now I know I'm dreaming."

Kyle looked a little disheartened. "No, I just wanted to do something nice for you. Is that so hard to believe?" He picked up his coffee and walked out.

"Huh?" I pinched myself. _Ow. Wait… It wasn't a dream?_

I quickly changed into my clothes, watching out for the lily that adorned my hair, and chased after Kyle. He was standing outside the center.

"Hey Kyle, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that, I just…" _How could I do it? How could I tell him that's what I've dreamed of all my life?_

"How do you think they live?" He changed the subject. "It's getting colder, and most flowers everywhere else have wilted by now."

"Well…" I blushed and turned away. "Somebody must take really good care of them, just like you do for me."

He looked over at me with a smile on his face. That seemed to have cheered him up. "Hey hold on, where's Riolu?"

"Oh!" I searched through my purse and tossed out his pokeball. Riolu hopped out and looked ready for a battle. He looked around, and then looked up at me.

"Riolu? Why'd you sleep in your pokeball last night? I missed you." I pat on my shoulder. "Hop on, we're ready to leave."

Riolu shook his head no, and instead walked up beside me.

"What's wrong Riolu?" I moped.

"I think," Kyle interjected. "He's trying to be more grown-up."

"What?" I looked back down at Riolu, who looked serious.

"But why?" I whimpered.

"Maybe it's just a phase."

"Maybe."

We started walking, and Riolu followed behind us. We walked over a bridge, toward an area with lots of trees scattered around. There was a large windmill in the distance. We walked up and around the path, fighting a few trainers along the way. We beat them all of course. Kyle even managed to use his new Skarmory a couple times. We fought each one until we noticed more and more trees, and less and less empty fields.

"This must be Eterna Forest." I watched my step as the dense brush surrounded us.

"Yeah, but what's that up there?" Kyle pointed to two people in white bodysuits.

"I can't believe they flubbed up the Spiritomb capture in Sandgem." One of them said.

"I know, but we're not doing much better with the Rotom."

"Well! That old mansion is creepy!" They stared into the forest. "But I guess we gotta go."

"You don't have to." I spoke up. "After all, we could stop you."

"Huh?" The galactic members turned around.

"That's right, galactic goons." I spun a pokeball on my finger. "Let's battle!"

"Oh no! Let's run!" One of the galactics panicked.

"Yeah! We have to complete this mission, or Jupiter will have our heads!" The other took off running also.

I watched stunned for a minute. _How cowardly._ I thought.

"Let's get them!" Kyle grabbed my hand as we raced after them. I tried to watch where I was going as we ran, but I my eyes kept going back to Kyle's hand wrapped around mine. _He's just trying to get me to go faster, right? Yeah. That's all._ I got so caught up in my daydreaming, I almost fell when Kyle suddenly stopped.

"Eep!" I fell forward, trying to regain my balance. Riolu jumped in front of me and pushed me back. "Heh, thanks Riolu." I said embarrassed as I stood straight. "Hey what is this place?" I looked up at the mansion in front of us, with a rusty fence and dilapidated exterior. It looked at least a couple centuries old.

"They ran in there." Kyle tugged at my hand again as we slowly walked into the mansion.

I blushed. _Okay, what excuse did I have for him holding my hand now? _We got into the main foyer and I couldn't take the embarrassment any more as I jerked my hand away. Kyle looked at me strangely with a flush on his face. I wondered if he had realized he was still holding it.

We both turned away. Riolu stared at both of us oddly. An odd cold breeze blew through the hallway and blew down a vase in the corner. It shattered on the floor. Kyle jerked his head to the scene. Riolu did likewise. "Just an old vase. You okay Shonna?" He turned back to me, but I was gone.

"Lu!" Riolu searched the room frantically. "Riooo!"

"Shoot Shonna. You should have held on to my hand." Kyle clinched his hand into a fist.


	10. Changing the Channeling!

**x-x-x**

Episode 9: Changing the Channeling!

"Luuuu!" Riolu cried.

"Riolu! Calm down!" Kyle bent down to his level and placed his hands on Riolu's shoulders. "Yours and Shonna's aura is very in tuned. If you focus, you can find her."

"Lu?" Riolu closed his eyes and concentrated. He took a moment. "Lu!" Riolu turned to a stairway on the left. He bounded up the stairs.

"Gastly!" A gastly floated in front of Riolu.

"A gastly. I'll bet these ghost pokemon are behind this. Go Charmander!" Kyle threw out Charmander, who saw the ghost pokemon and ran behind Kyle's legs. "Oh c'mon Charmander. Don't be scared of these clowns."

"Lu!" Riolu angrily punched away at the gastly. His normal attacks didn't affect the gastly, but he punched and kicked anyway.

"Gasasasly!" The gastly cackled.

"Char?" Charmander crept out from behind Kyle.

"See? He's not afraid." Kyle smiled at him.

"Char!" Charmander ran out and used an ember attack that sizzled the gastly. It fainted. Charmander stood proudly.

"See? He wasn't so tough." Kyle chuckled. Charmander was covered in a bright white light. It changed into a much more confident-looking charmeleon. "I have a Charmeleon now? Sweet." He looked down at Riolu, and couldn't help but notice how envious he looked. "Hey c'mon Riolu. We gotta find Shonna."

"Lu." Riolu nodded as he continued up the stairs. Charmeleon and Kyle followed. He led them down a hallway to the last room on the left. When they walked in the room, they saw an appliance in every corner. A fridge, a washing machine, a fan, a lawn mower, an oven, and a television set. Most notably, the two galactic members and myself were sitting in the floor, watching the tv.

"Shonna!" Kyle ran in front of us. He kneeled down and shook me. "Snap out of it!" It was no use. We all were washed out with a spacey look in our eyes. "They're somehow possessed."

"Lu!" Riolu yelled.

"Back here!" I called out.

"Huh?" Kyle turned around and looked at the tv. There on the screen was me looking back at him, and the two galactic members were crying behind me.

"A rotom broke loose of this tv and possessed us! It stuck us in here somehow!" I yelled.

"A rotom? Then where is it now?" Kyle looked around the room, then back at the tv screen.

"I'm not sure but you have to be careful Kyle! Rotom can transform into household appliances! If it does the only way to get it back to normal is to send it back to this tv."

"Okay… but what about you?"

"Lu!" Riolu stared at the tv sadly.

"If you can defeat it, and send it back to…" Suddenly the tv screen turned to static.

Kyle whirled around to see the lawn mower shaped pokemon behind him.

"Rotom tom tom!" The pokemon laughed as it released a powerful leaf storm.

"Charmeleon! Quick! Fire Spin!" Kyle called. Charmeleon burnt every leaf that came near them.

"Tom." Rotom frowned. It flew into the nearby washing machine and took its form. It grinned.

"Look out Charmeleon!" Kyle dove for his pokemon as he took the brunt of the hydro pump attack.

"Char!" Charmeleon ran to his fallen trainer who'd protected him.

"I'm okay Charmeleon. Just wet. Listen. Try knocking that thing into the fridge. Then you'll have the advantage." Charmeleon nodded and charged into Rotom, knocking him into the fridge. He changed forms, and angrily let out his blizzard attack.

"Man that's cold." Kyle shivered in his wet clothes as snow stuck to every wall of the room. "Okay! He's an ice type now! Get him with a fire spin!"

Charmeleon reared back to release the flames, but before he could, Rotom lunged for the oven. He took the oven form, and the fire spin attack, barely feeling a thing. "Rotom!" The rotom called out before emitting an overheat attack the quickly melted all the snow in the room and water poured down from the ceiling onto Charmeleon.

"Char!" Charmeleon winced.

"This thing's tough. It even knows type advantages." Kyle looked at his wore out Charmeleon. "How do I beat it?"

"Lu! Lu! Lu!" Riolu pounded on the snowy television. Begging me to come out. "Lu…" Riolu turned around and faced Rotom angrily.

"Riolu no! You can't fight that thing! Your attacks are no good against ghost type!" Kyle called. His comments went unnoticed as Riolu walked toward Rotom.

"Ro? Tomm…." Rotom pounced into the fan, taking on a flying type form.

"Oh no. Now he's a flying type too, so with Riolu being a fighting type… Riolu stop!" Kyle yelled.

"Lu." Riolu leaped for Rotom.

"Rotom!" Rotom whirled up an air slash attack that struck Riolu hard. It obviously hurt, but he pressed on and leaped off Rotoms head to get behind him. His eyes glowed in the blue reflection of his attack. The sphere bounced off his paw and hit into Rotom's back. The pokemon went flying into the tv and shattered the screen. The television sparked with Rotom's blue color before dissipating into nothing. Rotom had disappeared.

"Was that an aura sphere? I think it was a small one." Kyle recalled Charmeleon and walked in front of me. "Shonna? Are you okay now?"

"Lu?" Riolu weakly walked up to me as well.

I rose, with the same spaced out look in my eyes. "You're in front of the tv." I shoved him gently and stared at the broken tv.

"Oh no!" Kyle looked down at Riolu. "Maybe we we're supposed to break the tv?"

"Lu?" Riolu looked shocked.

"Shonna!" Kyle jumped in front of me again and gripped onto me. "Please snap out of it!"

"Move." I said monotone. "I can't see the…"

Kyle looked contemplative. He thought to himself. "What can I do? There's only one thing I know… at least, it works in the movies." He leaned forward, closing his eyes.

"Haha! I fooled you!" I couldn't stop laughing.

"What?" Kyle leaned back. "You mean you weren't possessed?"

"No. I was joking just then!" I giggled.

"Lu?" Riolu tilted his head.

"Well don't do me that way!" He yelled. "I was really worried about you!"

"Really?" I blushed.

"Well yeah… I umm…" He looked around. "Where'd those galactics go?"

I turned and looked behind me. "They must have snuck away. They're more clever than those rockets we fought before."

"Lu?" Riolu looked up at me worriedly, and for the first time in a while he let me pick him up.

"It's okay Riolu. I'm just fine now. You made sure of that." I nuzzled him and he happily hugged my neck.

Kyle coughed to interrupt. "Um, we should get out of here before more gastly jump us."

I set Riolu down and hugged Kyle. "Thank you too. I would have been stuck there without you."

"It was mostly Riolu." Kyle said reaching for the doorknob.

"Nonsense! You helped a lot too!" I hugged him even tighter.

"Umm…" He opened the door, and a gaggle of gastly greeted us.

"Gastly!"

**x-x-x**

"Commander Jupiter! We're terribly sorry, but we could not catch the Rotom. Two pests ended up sending it back into the television and breaking it." The galactic hung his head.

"Stupid grunt." Jupiter tapped her foot. "You're telling me two kids impeded our operation?" She yelled. The lower grunts held their heads in shame. "You will be reprimanded once we get back to headquarters." Jupiter stared toward the mansion. "Pluto will not be happy. First Spiritomb could not be recovered. Now this. Wait? Two kids? Could it be the same ones?"

"Gah!" We screamed as we ran out the front door.

"Gastly!" The gastly followed us into the light, but quickly retracted into the mansion.

"That was close." I held Riolu tight. "There were a ton of them."

"Yeah, but we could have took them." Kyle slammed the door shut.

"Yeah!" I smiled confidently, before hearing the humming sound of a helicopter. It flew over us with a blocky G in sigma on the side. "That's the galactic symbol I bet."

"Let's find out!" Kyle and I followed it past the courtyard, and into the forest's edge. There, the two galactics from before and a young woman with odd purple hair stood.

"You do fit the description." Jupiter sighed as she pinned up her hair. "You must be the meddling couple who ruined the Spiritomb and now Rotom missions."

"Couple?" I looked up at Kyle, who looked serious.

"That's us. We're such trouble." He grinned.

A small walkie-talkie went off beside Jupiter's ear.

"Jupiter. Saturn here at Lake Valor. Mars has went ahead to Lake Acuity. I trust you're still on route to Lake Verity."

"Yes Saturn. Let Cyrus know that in addition to this, I will be stopping the ones who have interfered with the spiritomb and rotom missions. They will not be bothering us with the lake guardians." She pressed a red button on the machine and looked back at us. "Very well. I'll have to stop you." She pulled out a pokeball.

"Fine." Kyle smirked.

"No wait! I wanna fight her." I smiled. "Can I?"

"Uh… sure." He backed up. "My pokemon are pretty tuckered out anyway."

"Alright!" I held up my pokeball proudly. "I know just who to pick. Go Shinx!" Shinx playfully hopped out of his ball.

"Give me a break. A measly Shinx? Go Skuntank!" Jupiter swirled around releasing her pokemon.

"Commander Jupiter! Are you sure Skuntank should battle? She's holding the…" A grunt whispered.

"Quiet!" My Skuntank can defend herself and protect the orb." Jupiter shushed them.

"Hmm…" I stared at the gleaming gem tucked under Skuntank's tail. The helicopter landed behind them.

"Jupiter. We don't have time to deal with these kids." A sinister man stepped out of a doorway on the chopper.

"Cyrus!" Jupiter said surprised. "Very well sir. Stuntank Poison Gas!"

"Huh?" I watched as the Skuntank turned and raised its tail. "Shinx! Thief."

A toxic and fowl smelling gas released from Skuntank. It was so thick and burned my eyes. I was forced to hold them shut.

Kyle coughed. Suddenly the haze cleared and I could see the helicopter take off. The wind from it had blown the gas away. They were gone.

"Shoot. They got away!" Kyle ran forward after the copter, but it sailed into the darkening sky.

"They did." I kneeled down to Shinx, who held the large pearl like object in his jaws. "But empty-handed." I took the gem from him and pet his head.

"Shinx!" The cub purred.

"Wow… How did Shinx do that?" Kyle looked surprised.

"I taught him to utilize those thieving skills of his against our enemies." I returned Shinx to his pokeball and held the orb in my hands. Riolu stood below me, staring at it seriously.

"That's great, but don't you think we should turn it into the authorities or something?" Kyle reached out to take it. I jerked it away.

"No. There's something strange about this thing. I'm not sure why, but I feel like I need to hold onto it." I stared into the reflection of the orb. The nearby city lights shown in it. "Let's go on to Eterna City." I stuffed the jewel into my bag. "We'll worry about this later."


	11. Riding Through the Gardenia!

**x-x-x**

Episode 10: Riding Through The Gardenia!

"Jupiter. Pluto has already placed the adament orb into position. Hand over the lusterous orb and we'll drop you off at lake verity." Cyrus commanded.

"Very well sir. Skuntank, if you will." Jupiter motioned to her pleased pokemon who raised his tail highly, then turned in shock. "Skuntank? Quit fooling around. Where is it?" The skuntank held its head low looking defeated. "Oh no."

"Jupiter! Where is it?" Cyrus bellowed.

"It can't be." Jupiter thought to herself. She recalled the girl issuing a command under her breath at the last minute, and now she knew what it was. "Those kids. I-I'm sorry sir. They stole it."

"Are you telling me you let a couple teenagers get away with one of the rarest artifacts in Sinnoh history? You fool! We have to have that to complete the operation on Mt. Coronet!" Cyrus was fuming.

"I understand sir. Allow me to go find them and steal it right back sir! They couldn't have gotten to far!" Jupiter pleaded.

"No. You have to go complete the mission at lake verity." Cyrus calmed himself.

"But sir! The orb!" Jupiter said confused.

"Don't worry about that. As long as they have the orb, they'll find their way to us. It's only a matter of time."

**x-x-x**

I looked through the window at the city lights. I was sitting on a bench in the pokemon center. Riolu was asleep at my side. I noticed Kyle's reflection in the window.

"Hey." I turned to him. "How's Charmeleon doing?"

"Joy says he'll be fine by morning." He sat down beside me.

"That's good." I stared back out the window. "We'll go check out that bike shop tomorrow, and the gym. Are you going on to bed?"

"No, not yet. It's a nice night out. I think I'll go on a walk." He stood up and walked to the door. "Do you want to come?"

I smiled, and reached for Riolu's pokeball. I gently pressed it to his head, making sure not to wake him. I put it back in my purse, and followed Kyle out.

We walked down the sidewalks underneath the street lights. We were walking close, and though I wanted to look around, I couldn't stop looking at the ground.

"You ready for the gym battle tomorrow?" Kyle suddenly asked.

"Oh yeah. You fought it already, what's the gym leader like?" I asked.

"Well, uh… She's a grass type."

"Okay… is she tough?" I glanced up.

"I guess so."

"You don't know do you?" I glared at him. "Kyle! Don't tell me you pulled another 'Arcanine can burn this place down' trick!"

He started laughing.

"You did! Didn't you?" I yelled. "I can't believe you!"

"Heh. In any case, good luck tomorrow." He laughed.

"Pfft. With Rapidash I shouldn't have any problems. Although I'm going to try using my other ones first." I said as we walked up some short stairs. I looked ahead and forgot all about what I was saying. In front of me, stood a massive statue. "What's this?" I ran up to it and read the plaque. "The legendary pokemon that can distort space, Palkia." I looked at the statue up and down. "This seems familiar. I think this is one of the pokemon I saw in that vision." I looked at Kyle, then past him at Mt. Coronet. No matter where you are in Sinnoh, you could see it. There was a violent storm that churned around its peak. It had made this summer in Sinnoh much colder than usual. The funny thing was it was impossible to find out what was going on up there, because everyone who had tried, had found themselves transported somewhere else. No camera crew or meteorologist could even get close to the storm.

"Shonna?" Kyle waved his hand in front of me. "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah." I said sadly.

"We'd better head back. The wind's picking up." Kyle said as he stared toward the looming storm.

"Yep." I held my blue coat tight around me and shivered. That wind was so cold and ominous.

"Here." Kyle wrapped his black coat around my shoulders. Embarrassed, I turned away. He released Arcanine who promptly scooped us up. I wrapped my arms around Kyle's waist as we swiftly headed back. As a few drops of rain hit my glasses, I leaned over and rested my head on his back. I saw him turn his head a bit, but he didn't say anything. We arrived back at the pokemon center in no time. Arcanine lowered so we could slide off. As Kyle returned Arcanine, I wandered into the center. I wasn't sure why, but I was exhausted. I walked on back to a room in the center, and took the usual bottom bed. I curled up under the covers. I saw Kyle walk in and climb up to the top.

"Oh! I forgot." I pulled off the jacket. "Your coat."

"Keep it." I heard him say. "I don't want you getting cold tonight."

"Thank you." I said politely. I wrapped the jacket back over me and held it close. It smelled good. I remembered thinking how odd that was for me to think, before I drifted off to sleep.

**x-x-x**

I yawned as we walked down the sidewalk that morning. I had made sure to give Kyle back his coat, as it was a chilly day. "Well, I'm still a little tired, but I feel better than yesterday."

"Today's going to be a busy day too. You've got a gym battle to win." Kyle said as we walked up to the bike shop door. "And I've got some repair work to do."

We pushed open the door and a tiny bell dinged as we walked inside.

"Hello, can I help you?" A scraggly man at the counter eyed us.

"Yeah. I need to have some work done on my bike." Kyle said as he approached the counter.

"Simple enough. Do you have an Aero, or Mach style?"

"It's not a bicycle, it's a motorcycle. An Akira 28 style."

"Oh yeah. We get one of those every now and then. Used to be real rare back in the day." The man leaned over the counter. "Well? Let's see it."

Kyle pulled the bike out of its storage case, and the man had a look over on it. I can't tell you what they said after that, as it was a bunch of mumbo jumbo to me. I figure it was a summary of everything that was wrong though.

"That'll run ya about 30k." The man said, running a toothpick through his teeth. I saw the shock on Kyle's face.

"I… I can't afford that!"

"Well. I'll tell ya what. If you stay here and help me out with it, I'll cut it in half."

"That's more like it." Kyle rolled up his sleeves.

The man looked over at me strangely. "It'll take quite a while ma'am."

"You mean you're not going to the gym with me Kyle?" I whined. "You didn't last time either!"

"Sorry Shonna. I don't see any other way. Unless you wanna pay 30,000." He winked.

"Not really." I groaned. "Fine, but next time you're going to come watch me, okay?" I turned to walk out, hearing the bell again as I closed the door. I leaned up against it for a moment. "Aw shucks Kyle. I like having you around too much." I sighed before walking down to the nearby gym.

Again, as I walked in, it looked more like a greenhouse than a gym, and again, I found the gym leader giving water to some grass type pokemon. It was so beautiful, and although I've never had a grass type before, I knew Turtwig would love it, so I released him. "Excuse me! I called out to the gym leader.

"Oh hello there! My name's Gardenia!" She raised up, and when she caught sight of us, she rushed forward to hug Turtwig. "What an adorable Turtwig you have!" She squeezed poor Turtwig until he looked as though he were going to pop. "I don't suppose you brought him here to let me keep him?"

"No way!" I jerked Turtwig away. "I came for a battle."

"Oh. Okay." Gardenia glanced toward a door in the back. "Follow me."

We walked slowly into the large stadium, covered in tall grass. Turtwig followed behind me, happily munching on the grass. It occurred to me once more that I had never actually trained a grass type before, besides the occasional one at the day-care center.

"Hey! You're looking at your Turtwig awfully hard. You're thinking about my offer aren't you?" Gardenia sneered.

"Never!" I hissed. She was starting to get on my nerves. I defintely was not hitting it off with her like I did with Erica. A couple more tries at my Turtwig, and I might really hit her.

"Fine Fine… three on three okay? I won't switch out." Gardenia winked.

"Fine." I watched as she released her first, a turtwig. "You mean this whole time you've been pestering me for mine, and you have your own?"

"Well, I'm always open for more." She giggled.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes. "Go starly." Starly floated over the turtwig. She was doing much better now and was flying well. I silently wished Kyle was with me now to see her progress.

"Okay! Easy enough. Bring it down with razor leaf!" Gardenia commanded.

Starly dodged easily. I smiled, thinking. Poor Gardenia. She had no idea that I'd trained Starly with my Turtwig. She didn't stand a chance.

"Starly!" I called. "Wing attack!"

Starly flicked her wing across turtwig. The wind whipped around her Turtwig as feathers cut into it. I was so pleased. Starly had healed nicely, and now she was putting all that behind her and becoming a great pokemon. We'd been training hard, though I tried not to push her, she insisted on showing me just how good she could be. I was so caught up in my pride, I almost didn't notice the white light that shone around her.

I heard Gardenia gasp. "Turtwig! Get it with Leech Seed!

I watched in awe. It hadn't taken very long for Starly to evolve. She transformed gracefully into a Staravia. Just as I was admiring her, she was engulfed in a green mess of vines that brought her down to the ground with a thud.

"Yeah! Go Turtwig! Way to take away the advantage! Now that it's immobilized, use tackle!" Gardenia cackled.

For a moment, as turtwig hit her head on, I didn't know what to do. I watched her fly through the air, trapped in the viney mess. "Staravia! Your wings are strong now! Break free!" I called out. I hoped my cheering would be enough to help her.

Staravia squirmed as she approached the stadium wall. She wiggled her wings, until the vines snapped from around her. She quickly turned and dove in on Turtwig with another wing attack. Turtwig tumbled over, knocked out.

"Hmm… Return." Gardenia looked puzzled. "Your Staravia's strong. I can tell you've been taking good care of it. But it'll go down! Go Cherubi!" A cute little pokemon, who in everyway resembled a berry hopped out onto the stage.

"Staravia! Keep up the wing attacks!" I yelled. I wasn't about to let her get the first move. Staravia dove in. It struck Cherubi knocking it backward.

"Magical leaf Cherubi!" I thought I caught Gardenia smirk.

"ˇTry to dodge Staravia!" I'd heard of this attack, but I couldn't remember much about it. As Staravia flew out of range of the leaves, they turned and aimed for her again, striking down on her. Staravia whined and I returned her.

"Magical Leaf can't be evaded." Gardenia screeched. "Guess you've still got a lot to learn!"

"I do…" I stared back at my Turtwig, who was munching on grass behind me, oblivious to my battle. "Turtwig. Look over there." I whispered. Turtwig glanced over toward the field.

"Cherubi! Growth!" The Cherubi grew to a large size, making it almost as big as Turtwig. I looked down at him and noticed Turtwig's eyes grow just as large. Gardenia had no idea how much worse she'd made it on her self. She also had no idea of my Turtwig's ferocious appetite.

"Tur?" Turtwig looked antsy as he stared at the overgrown berry.

"Go on, go get it!" I laughed.

"Twig!" Turtwig raced after Cherubi, mouth wide open. Cherubi stood looking dumbfounded before Turtwig chomped down on its large berry head.

"Cherubiiii!" Cherubi ran around with Turtwig gnawing on its head. I saw drool drip out over her as he was chewing.

"What?" Gardenia looked shocked. "G-get off her!"

"That's a world class bite attack Turtwig!" I laughed.

"Magical Leaf!" Gardenia spurted out. Leafs came out striking Turtwig, but with it being a grass-type, it looked like he barely felt a thing. He kept chewing. "Oh… I can't stand this! Return Cherubi!" Cherubi looked dizzy and disgusted before beaming back into its ball.

"Alright! You're going down!" Gardenia clenched a fist around her last pokeball. "Go Roserade!" A dashing green pokemon with roses for hands danced onto the stage. "Roserade! Weather Ball!" A massive ball of aqua blue appeared at Roserade's hands before crashing into Turtwig.

"Twig!" Turtwig flopped to the floor, wore out. I returned him.

"That's it. No more fooling around. I'm tired of messing with you." I sighed, shrugging in a nonchalant way as I tossed out Rapidash. His bright blue flames glistened in the sunlight. I wondered if Gardenia could tell just how big of a difference there was in levels between our pokemon now. I didn't see her expression change, so I guessed not.

"Roserade, Grass Knot!" Gardenia cried. Roserade glowed a blue shade, and I tensed up waiting to see him move. Suddenly roots from the earth below Rapidash came up and surrounded him, holding him to the ground. I heard him whinny, but I could have sworn I saw him wink.

A smirk came across my face. She didn't stand a chance.

"Not going to make a move? Than I will!" Gardenia grinned. "Roserade, end this with weather ball!"

Roserade released the giant ball as it did before, and I looked up at the sun coming through the ceiling. It beat through the greenhouse area, and illuminated Rapidash.

"Rapidash! Flare Blitz!" I yelled.

Blue flames engulfed Rapidash, burning through the vines around him. He stood, looking gallant as always, kicking up dirt behind him before charging full speed into the ball. It shattered on contact with the flames, and the stunned Roserade was hit head on by the attack. I saw Gardenia's jaw drop as she raced to her fallen pokemon.

"Roserade!" She ran to him. He looked singed and beat up, but otherwise fine.

I walked calmly over to Rapidash, who was unknowingly burning the stadium floor. I pat him gently to get him to turn down the flames. "Great job Rapidash." I looked up at the metal star shapes on the walls that started twisting, and recalled him before the sprinklers came on.

"Geez, you could have warned me you had a pokemon like that." Gardenia hissed.

"He's past level 60 now." I smiled, pushing back my now wet hair behind me.

"Here." Gardenia pushed the badge into my hand. "Now go. I need to get Roserade to the pokemon center." She picked him up and ran out the back door.

"Hmm. I almost feel bad." I looked up into the mist, and around at the burnt grass. "But at least I fought for my badge. Unlike some people. I wonder if he's done yet."


	12. Emergency Room Riolu!

**x-x-x**

Episode 11: Emergency Room Riolu!

I yawned walking down Eterna's sidewalks. Riolu was by my side now. He'd been hanging out in his pokeball a lot lately, but I insisted he walk with me. He seemed fine with that, though he scoffed at the first offer of my shoulder.

"What's been troubling you lately Riolu?" I looked down at him.

"Lu?" He tilted his head in his classic confused look.

After I said it, I wondered why I had. It's not like I was expecting an answer. "Silly." I sighed, looking forward.

"_I wanna get big!"_ I heard a child's voice say. I smiled, looking around for the kid. The smile turned to a puzzled look when I couldn't find anybody. Strange. It sounded so nearby. _"So I can help you more mommy!"_ I looked around frantically, trying to find where it was coming from.

I felt Riolu tug on my arm. "Not now Riolu… I'm looking for…" I stopped short and looked down at Riolu. He smiled at me. "Riolu?"

"_And so."_ His mouth never opened_. "I can talk to you better."_

Riolu and lucario can sometimes use telepathy. I remembered reading about it. But seeing it, hearing it, was impossible to comprehend. Riolu looked as though he were struggling to concentrate, and suddenly I felt the link break.

"Riolu!" I picked him up. He smiled weakly before going limp in my arms. "Riolu!" I ran as fast as my legs would go for the pokemon center.

"Nurse Joy!" I burst through the doors. The pink-haired nurse and her Chansey ran out from behind the counter. I handed Riolu gingerly to her.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I don't know, he just collapsed." I said honestly.

"We'll check him over. Wait here." She placed him on a stretcher and wheeled him to the back. I wanted so bad to go back there. _What had happened? He was fine just a minute ago. Could… could the telepathy have… I'm not sure._ I sat my other pokeballs on the counter as another chansey placed them on the machine to heal them.

"What's going on?" I saw Gardenia standing in the center. Her Roserade stood beside her, looking much better.

"Something's wrong with my Riolu." I hung my head.

"I don't remember fighting that one. Did you get in a battle with someone after me?" She looked confused.

"No…" Tears welled up in my eyes. "I don't know what's wrong."

"Gosh. Is there anything I can do?"

"Well, there is one thing. I have a friend who's with me. He's been working in the bike shop all day, do you think you could let him know what happened?"

"Sure. I'm headed that way anyway. Umm… what's he look like?"

"You met him once. Gave him a badge for his huge Arcanine."

"Oh. That guy." Gardenia shuddered. "Okay sure. I'll let him know." She walked out the sliding doors.

"Thank you." I mumbled. _Maybe she wasn't so bad._ "Riolu..." I took my pokeballs back and sat in a chair. _He'd said he wanted to get big. Did he mean evolving? He wanted to help me. He wants to be able to talk to me, which I'm sure would be easier if he were a lucario. _

"Miss." Nurse Joy was standing over me. "You can come back now."

"Oh! Okay." I stood and followed her. We walked down a hallway and eventually stood behind a glass wall. Inside the room Chansey were working on monitors around Riolu, who was resting on the table. "Is he okay?"

"He's just tired. He's sleeping now. For whatever reason, his aura's completely drained." Nurse Joy looked troubled. "Do you know why this is?"

"I have a feeling." I stuttered. "He just tried using telepathy with me. He was talking to me."

"Oh. That's probably it then." Joy looked back toward Riolu. "It's very rare for riolu and lucario to be able to connect to their trainers that way. It takes a lot of aura power to do that, more than most Riolu can do. I think you should refrain from using until he becomes a lucario."

"I see." I looked away.

"You can take him whenever he wakes, but you'd better let him rest some more." Nurse Joy turned and walked down the hall. I watched her for moment before hearing a voice at the other end.

"Shonna!" I knew who it was before seeing him, but as I turned around, I felt his arms encircle me. "Gardenia told me what happened. You okay?"

Finally, I couldn't hold in the tears in my eyes anymore, and they came out in streams. I buried my face in his chest. I heard his heartbeat, which made my heart flutter.

"Shonna? What's wrong? Is Riolu alright?" He questioned, hugging me tighter.

"He'll be fine. Can we talk?" I whispered.

"Of course." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder as we walked over to a bench.

I wiped my eyes with my sleeve. "Riolu spoke to me, he used telepathy."

"Wow. That's cool. He's a really tough little guy. Did you know I saw him use something that looked like an aura sphere? And now with this he…"

"He's not strong enough for it." I interrupted. "And he won't be, unless he evolves."

"Well…" He paused. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know what to do. I'm so afraid he won't be the same if he evolves. He'll change so much… and what if…" I trailed off.

"Hey." Kyle put a finger under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "A very smart woman told me once you have to do what the pokemon want. You can't always worry about what it'll do for you. It's what they want."

I did vaguely remember saying something like that about Aerodactyl, but as I stared into Kyle's deep green eyes, I couldn't remember much of anything. My heart tugged again, and I felt something twist in my stomach. I jerked my head away before he could see the flush on my face.

"It'll be okay. Everything will work itself out." He wrapped his arms around me, and I laid my head on his shoulder. When he let go, I just left it there. Something about it felt wrong, I mean we were just friends. Right? Close friends. Very close. But at the same time, it felt so right. I closed my eyes, and let my mind wander where it so badly wanted to.

**x-x-x**

"_Mommy?"_ The voice jostled me awake. I looked into Riolu's room. He was sitting up looking at me and Kyle through the window. I glanced up at Kyle, who obviously hadn't heard it. He'd fallen asleep with his head leaned against me. I blushed, wondering how long we'd been like that. I shrugged him off gently.

"Huh? Wha?" He sat up. I pointed to Riolu. "Oh yeah. Go to him." He smiled.

I got up and walked into Riolu's room.

"_Mommy!"_ Riolu smiled, he was starting to look weak again.

"Shh! Stop that Riolu!" I scooped him into my arms and stupidly put my hand over his mouth. He chuckled. "You've got to quit that. You're hurting yourself!"

"_But…"_ He said weakly.

"Stop it! If it'll make you happy I'll let you evolve!" I cried.

I saw a look of shock cross his face.

"Yeah, you heard me. But you've got to quit this talking to me biz. It's zapping your energy, and you're just not ready for that.

He chuckled again before running his paw across his mouth as if to zip it.

"You kook." I held him close to me. "I love you Riolu."

"Is he okay?" Kyle stepped in.

"He's fine now." I smiled, for the first time in a while, feeling relieved. "Did you get your bike fixed Kyle?"

"Gardenia showed just as I was finishing it up." He grinned. "Now we're ready for that muddy slope for sure!"

"Oh no." Suddenly my relief washed away.


	13. A Steamy Stream Scene!

**A/N: Warning: Some sexual themes in this one.**

**x-x-x**

Episode 12: A Steamy Stream Scene!

"Are you positive there's no other way up this thing?" I was behind Kyle, sitting on his bike, in my work clothes, facing what looked like a landslide.

"Nope. Not even your Rapidash could trek up this muddy mess." He grinned, revving the engine.

"Wait! Maybe Skarmory could…" I yelled.

"Too late!" He pushed on the throttle and we sped up the slope.

"Aiiiiiiiiieeeeee!" I screamed, until I realized if I left my mouth agape mud would fly in. I kept my mouth and eyes closed as I gripped onto Kyle and felt cold mud slosh all over me. It was an agonizing two minutes before we reached the top.

"That was absolutely awful!" I hopped off his bike the first chance I got. My overalls had been spared of most of the mud, in comparison to Kyle, who looked perfectly content dripping in it. "How can you stand that?"

"It's just mud." He laughed as he parked by a nearby creek.

"It's gross!" I stuck out my tongue, putting on my best disgusted face.

"Whatever." He chuckled to himself as he began pulling off his jacket. He threw it to the ground and started tugging at his shirt.

"W-what are you doing?" I stood shocked as he flicked it to the ground as well.

"I'm going to wash my clothes, so you'll quit looking at me like that. Expression changed, but you're still looking." He winked at me as he tugged at his jeans zipper.

"K-kyle!" I turned around quickly, blushing all the while. I heard the zipper unzip and a flop to the ground. "Here? Why can't we wait until we get to the center?"

"There's not a pokemon center for miles. And I gotta get it now if I don't want it to ruin." He said it so calmly. "Now hand over yours."

"E-excuse me?" I felt my face turn red. I actually felt dizzy from the embarrassment. "No way! I'll go up river and do my own."

"Suit yourself. Not like I haven't seen it before though." I heard him mumble.

I stomped away as fast as I could. _That…that Kyle! I guess this is what I get for traveling with a man. Where did he get off? I mean, that was years ago. I was just 13 then. Jeez, I have boobs now._ Once I was sure I was far enough away, I looked around, making sure I was in thick enough bush, and slowly slipped off the overalls and shirt. _Good, my underwear had been spared._ I carefully placed them in the water, and reached for my bag. I had to get to my other clothes. I reached absentmindedly, fumbling with my fingers, trying to reach without looking. _Nothing. Where is it?_ I jerked my head over to where I'd laid it. _Gone. What the?_

"Ai! Aipom!" I looked up to see an Aipom in the tree above me. He held my bag in the large hand on his tail.

"You! Give me that back!" I reached for it. He jerked it away.

"Aiaiaiai!" The Aipom laughed as it took off with the bag, swinging from tree to tree.

"Shoot! Riolu get that thing!" I looked around, feeling stupid when I realized he was in his pokeball today. In the bag. "Aw man! I'll just have to get those muddy wet clothes back on." I looked down to where I'd laid them to wash them. They weren't there. I followed the stream with my eyes, finally spying them floating downstream.

**x-x-x**

"Arcanine! What do you think you're doing boy?" Kyle laughed. His playful pooch pokemon was rubbing against his muddy bike. "Stop it! You're going to get me in even more trouble you know!"

The muddy Arcanine took two steps forward, turned and shook off like a wet dog.

"Agh!" Kyle laughed, getting covered in mud. "Now look what you did. Now I have to take another bath!"

Arcanine had a sly look on his face as he came up and pushed Kyle into the water.

"Hey!" He yelled, falling in. "Thanks a lot! I don't need your help you know!"

"Arf!" Arcanine barked happily.

"Ha. I'll get you back for that!" As he started to get up, something caught on his foot. "Hmm? Is this… Shonna's clothes?" He paused for a minute. "Oh that's just rich." He picked them up and bundled them up, setting them on a rock. "We could have a little fun with this couldn't we boy?" Kyle grinned.

Arcanine simply looked confused. Suddenly his head jerked up, ears perked. He turned toward the Aipom swinging toward them and growled.

"Arcanine?" Kyle stared at the Aipom which stopped dead in its tracks. It held the large blue tote bag firmly in its grasp. "Oh no way."

"Arf! Arf Arrrr…" Arcanine let a low growl.

"Ai! Aipom." Aipom stuck out its tongue.

"Rrrr." Arcanine snorted out a small ember.

"Aiiii…" Aipom dropped the bag and took off running across the stream.

"Arf." Arcanine sat down proudly.

"Great job Arcanine!" Kyle ran up and grabbed the bag. "Yep definitely hers. And the clothes are still in here… Does that mean she's…"

"Get back here you stupid monkey!" I yelled, running as fast as I could. I huffed and puffed, trying to maneuver through the forest. Suddenly I saw them, Kyle and Arcanine. He was still just in his boxers. "Eep!" I ducked behind a nearby tree.

"Kyle! Tell me you didn't see that." I squinted my eyes, feeling utterly humiliated.

"Nope. I didn't see you." He yelled. Maybe I'd been hidden in the brush in time. "But hang on and I'll bring you your clothes."

"No!" I screamed. "You can't do that! You'll see me!" I paused, thinking quickly. "Let Arcanine bring them to me."

"I don't think you want me doing that. He's covered in mud." His voice sounded closer.

"Well wait now! We've gotta figure something else out!" I looked around desperately for something to cover myself with.

"Aw, quit acting silly. If it's bothering you that much, I won't look. I'll close my eyes."

I thought about that for a moment. _Could I really trust him?_ "You promise you will?"

"Promise." His voice was on the other side of the tree. I saw his arm reach out around it, holding the bag.

I peeked around the tree. His eyes were closed tightly, but he was still… mostly naked. I looked away embarrassed and reached around without looking again. I felt my fingers touch his wet bare chest and a chill ran up my spine. I jerked my hand away.

"S-sorry." I forced myself to look at him, to make sure his eyes were still closed.

"No problem." He smiled, but his eyes remain closed.

I blushed like crazy, taking a step forward to reach my bag, but on the slippery rocks, I fell forward. "Eee!" I felt his arms around me in an instant, as he held me to his wet body. My eyes bulged and as I saw him looking down at me, my heart stopped, and I was sure I'd died.

"Kyle!" I grabbed my bag and smacked him across the head with it.

"Ouch!" He rubbed his head. "What'd you do that for?"

"You said you wouldn't look perv!" I ran behind the tree again, rummaging through my bag as fast as humanly possible.

"It's not like I meant to! I had to catch you!" He looked away, and I caught a glimpse of a blush on his face. He turned around, looking for the first time that I remember, embarrassed.

"Nuh uh. You should have let me fall!" I said angrily as I slipped on my shirt. I pulled up my pants, sucked in a breath and walked around the tree to face him. I was surprised to see he already had his clothes on and Gyarados was spraying off his bike. Arcanine was reluctantly washing off in the stream. "Umm…"

Kyle had a stern look on his face. He put his bike up, snapping the case closed with more force than necessary.

"What? You can't be mad at me!" I put my hands to my hips.

"I'm not a pervert Shonna! I like teasing you, but I'm not that way!" He was yelling now.

"Kyle I…"

"It was an accident." He looked away, still looking mad.

"I believe you." I watched him recall Gyarados. "I don't really think you're a pervert Kyle. I was just embarrassed." I hung my head, about as low as the sun stood now in the sky. It was getting darker.

"You mean it?" He looked a little more relaxed now.

"Of course." I picked up a rock and tossed it toward the stream. It plopped into the water.

There was a long moment of silence. All I could hear were Kricketune chirping nearby.

"That's not how you do it." I heard him say.

"Huh?" I turned, to see him right behind me. He pushed a flat stone in my hand, and held onto it wrapping his fingers around mine, pulling back and flinging it forward. The stone skipped three times, only slightly less than my heart beat.

"Now you try." He put another stone in my hand.

"Kay." I held it back like he showed, and flung it forward, letting it roll off my fingers. It skipped two times.

"See? I knew you could do it." He smiled that warm smile I was starting to miss. I turned to him and smiled back. I couldn't help but stare into his deep green eyes. It was so easy to get lost in them. I unknowingly leaned forward. Kyle put his arms out to catch me. "You're kind of clumsy today ain't cha?" He flashed that brilliant smile again. The one that sent chills. _Why did I feel like this all the time anymore? Maybe the "accident" from earlier had only made it worse. Intensified the feelings. _Either way, I couldn't stop myself from looking into his eyes again, not realizing our lips were only inches apart.

Suddenly cold water hit me in huge drops. "Eek! Cold." I shivered, pushing out of Kyle's arms.

"Arcanine!" Kyle shook his head at the drenched dog, who was shaking wildly.

"Arf." He had a wiry smile on his face. I was sure he'd done it on purpose.


	14. Two Hearts, One Hearthome!

**x-x-x**

Episode 13: Two Hearts, One Hearthome!

The next morning, we packed up our belongings and were back on Kyle's bike. It chugged along at a slightly slower speed than I remember in the first year we'd been together, but then again, that meant it was still pretty fast. I gripped onto Kyle's waist as we sped through the forest. So much had happened yesterday. It was hard to take it in, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. _First we were almost naked, then we were about to kiss… dang. That just sounds bad. What would my mom think of that? She doesn't even know I'm with a boy. Let alone one I'm so… attracted to. _

I immediately gasped. A blush streaked across my face. _No no no! We're just friends Shonna. Close friends. Buddies. Yeah, that sounds innocent enough_. I watched the world streak by as I sat there behind him. That, and the tunnel we were supposed to go through.

"You missed the tunnel." I yelled over the loud bike's engine.

"We're not taking the tunnel." He kept looking forward. "We're going up Mt. Coronet, and we're going to find out what's up there."

I looked ahead of us to the monstrous mountain. I'd almost forgotten about that.

Kyle glanced back at me. "You still want to find out what's going on up there right?"

"Yes." I nodded. "But are you sure your bike can get us up there?"

"Yeah sure." He revved the gas, making us speed up, and lift into the air briefly. It was just enough push us up on the rocky pathway. Dust and dirt flew behind us as we quickly approached the looming purple storm above. "This way, we'll be there in no time." He smiled.

"Guess so." I watched as we got closer and closer, and the wind grew stronger with each mile. It whipped through my hair, making it fly in front of my face. In between the pieces, I caught a glimpse of two things. One blue, one pink. Suddenly they collided against each other, creating a massive force. It blew the bike around a little. Kyle struggled to control it.

"Eeeiiie!" I screamed, gripping onto him tight.

"It's okay!" He slowed down, bringing the bike back to normal. His head jerked up. "What are those things?"

"I… don't know." I answered honestly. Since they still looked like blue and pink blurs.

Suddenly, the blue and pink dots collided again, and a cry erupted from the pair. I realized they must be pokemon. _But what kind of beasts could possibly do this kind of damage? _Suddenly my thoughts escaped me as I realized the ground in front of us was cracking and distorting, and the force behind it was coming our way. It was too quick. Too fast for me or Kyle to wrap our heads around. The bike flipped into the air, throwing us off of it. I saw Kyle hit the ground close by it, and wondered why I hadn't struck the surface either. Until I saw the cliff face I'd passed, and felt the drop down. It was still too fast. Neither me or Kyle could call a pokemon quick enough to help me. I glanced down at the jagged rocks below me, and felt sick as I looked back up toward the sky. Tears welled up in my eyes as I saw a bright pink glow far above me. I closed my eyes and waited to die.

**x-x-x**

But I didn't die. As soon as I came to that realization, I opened my eyes, and heard a groaning. I was in a meadow.

"Kyle?" I sat up and looked around. Kyle was slumped over his bike nearby. "Kyle!" I ran to him, tripping on the last step. I kneeled down beside him. "Kyle! Kyle! Are you okay?"

"Uhh…" He held a hand over his forehead, which had a deep gash on it.

"On no…" I felt my heart sink. "What do I do? Where are we?" I looked around, for any sign of civilization. To the left, Mt. Coronet. To the right, Hearthome City. _Wait, ?_ I did a double take to the mountain, which stood in the distance. It's peak engulfed by purple clouds. _How? We were just there._

_Doesn't matter. I have to get Kyle to the hospital. I could drive the bike. _I propped it up on kickstand. _Pretty beat up, but… wait I can't drive this! I'd get us killed._

With quick thinking, I rummaged through Kyle's bag and put the bike up as I'd watched him do before. I messed up the first time, getting in too much of a hurry, and with a shove the second time, snapped it closed. I tossed it back in the bag, and reached for the pokeball around Kyle's neck, pushing the button open.

Arcanine hopped out, looking a little dazed. Apparently even the pokemon were a little jostled.

"Arcanine!" I cried, drawing his attention. He took one look at Kyle and whimpered sadly. "He's okay, but you gotta get us to Hearthome City!" I pointed in the direction. He jumped into action as he lowered to our level. I grabbed our bags, and pulled myself and Kyle up onto the dog. "Hurry." I said as I held to Kyle's limp body.

It seemed like such a long trip, though it took less than a few minutes. Arcanine took us right up to the door, and I slid down, recalling him quickly. I struggled to make my way through the door, with Kyle draped over my shoulder, barely walking for himself. "Help!" I cried. "Somebody please help him!" I yelled into the long hallway. A nurse took one look at us and rushed for a stretcher, before I even knew what was going on. I watched helplessly as they wheeled him away. I paced the floor for a while, and even stopped at the vending machine to get a can of V8. Eventually I flopped in a heap into one of the waiting room chairs. I wondered at first why they hadn't pulled me back, but to my amazement, I didn't have a scratch on me. _How was this even possible? How did I plummet several thousand feet without a scratch, and Kyle ends up broken and bruised. And how did we end up at least 30 miles from where I last remembered us?_ Suddenly my head hurt slightly trying to take it all in. I felt a rumble from my purse as a beam of light poured out of it. Riolu stood shakily on the hospital floor next to me. His soft paws reached for my hand.

"_Momma? What happened?"_ His innocent voice rang through my head.

"Shush Riolu." I held a finger to my lips. "There was an accident, and Kyle got hurt." Tears still loomed in my eyes. Riolu didn't say anything, but I felt a sad aura cross to me. It was overwhelming.

"Are you his wife?" I heard a woman's voice say. I looked up, sure she was speaking to the wrong person, but the nurse was staring down at me.

"Me? Oh no. We're just friends." I felt color flush across my cheeks.

"Oh. Well, you can come back now, but he's still sleeping so try and let him rest." She motioned for me to follow her, and as soon as I picked up Riolu, I did. As I walked into the sterile white room, a short gasp escaped my lips. Kyle was laying on his back, with monitors hooked to him, and a bandage was wound tightly around his head. "I'll leave you two alone." The nurse whispered as she swiveled on her heels to exit.

I just stood there for a while, before taking the seat next to him. I held Riolu tight against me. "How could you get hurt?" I whispered. "You always take care of me." I caught more sad aura coming from Riolu. I gently pet his head. "He'll be alright. He just needs rest." This seemed to comfort him slightly. He curled up in my lap.

I leaned my head back and fell asleep for a while.

When I woke up, my eyes fluttered open. I almost forgot where I was, until I saw the white curtain that surrounded us.

"Are you okay Shonna?" I heard his voice say. It sounded somewhat ragged.

"Me?" I sat up to see him, his face turned to me. "I'm fine. What about you? You're the one who got hurt."

"But, I saw you," He strained to get out the rest. "I saw you go over the cliff."

"I'm fine Kyle." I put my still sleeping Riolu in his pokeball and stood up, walking over to the bed. "It's you I'm worried about."

"You gotta get me outta here." He shuddered.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I… I'm afraid of needles."

"What?"

"I'm afraid of needles! I've got a phobia."

"Are you kidding me?" I couldn't resist a chuckle.

"No! I'm not." He looked somewhat embarrassed.

"What's going on in here?" A doctor, who didn't look that much different from the nurses walked in. "Oh. I see you're awake Mr. Gray. You're looking a lot better than when your girlfriend brought you in." I blushed, and saw a similar look on Kyle's face, but he didn't say anything against it. "Anyway, you had a minor concussion, and some bruising, but otherwise fine. We're just going to run a simple blood test and then you'll be discharged. I'll be right back." I saw Kyle's eyes bulge as she walked out of the room. He jumped out of the bed, either unaware or uncaring about the hospital gown he was wearing being open in the back. I blanched.

"Whether you help me or not, I'm getting out of here." He grabbed his bag and reached in for his spare change of clothes.

I turned, facing a nearby PC as he changed. "Fine. But you owe me."

**x-x-x**

The doctor walked into the room with hypodermic in hand. She stopped short when she saw her patient covered up, and a tall blond nurse standing next to him.

"Oh I'm terribly sorry doctor. I went ahead and took care of the blood work for you. Teehee!" The perky nurse held up a needle filled with red liquid. She squirted it into a capsule and pushed it into the doctors hand.

The doctor eyed her suspiciously. "Are you new here?"

"Yes, but you've seen me around before." She giggled.

Abruptly an empty can of V8 fell to the floor. The girl beside it sat lifelessly.

"Yeah." The doctor sighed. "You do look familiar." She glanced over to the girl sitting in the seat. "Is she alright? She's all slumped over."

"Yes! I checked on her." The nurse danced around the room. "She's just overwhelmed by what happened to her boyfriend." She winked.

"I see." The doctor couldn't help but laugh at that. She turned taking the vial toward the lab.

"You know, I really like that outfit on you. You should keep it." Kyle winked, tossing off the blanket. He'd changed into his normal outfit.

I pulled my glasses out of the dress pocket and placed them back on my face. I quickly pulled my hair out of the ponytail I had it in. "Yeah right. You wouldn't like it for the props." I winked back, waving the needle in front of him. He scooted back in the bed nervously. I laughed, tossing it in the can. "Ditto! You can transform back now."

The replica of me smiled happily as its beady eyes glistened. It molded back into the pink blob shape. I rushed to the pc and sent it back to my storage box.

"Where'd you get the ditto anyway?" Kyle asked as he pulled himself out of the bed. I wheeled a wheelchair over to meet him. He sat down and I took the opportunity to quickly change behind the curtain.

"When you work at a pokemon day-care center, you have to have one or two around for breeding." I answered, wrapping my scarf around me.

"I see." He seemed content with that answer. I laid some money down at the counter for the bill, and calmly wheeled him out of the hospital, with no one the wiser.

"Let's go." I said when we'd got far enough away. We hustled off toward the edge of the city. "You're more trouble than you're worth you know." I laughed.

"You know you love me." Kyle laughed back. When he noticed my surprised look, he stopped. "Shonna… I…"

"What happened to us Kyle?" I stared off to Mt. Coronet. "One minute we were there, and then…"

"I'm not sure. I was hoping you'd know really." He sighed, rubbing his head tenderly.

"Are you okay? We should go somewhere where you can rest."

"No. I'm fine, really." He looked over to a decorative sign. "Amity Square Park. Let's go in there."

"Are you sure?" I touched his arm gently.

"Yes. I need to talk to you about something." He looked very serious.

"Oh. Okay." Although part of me didn't want to, I pulled back my hand.

We walked into the entrance of the park, where a lady with thick blue hair greeted us. We started to walk right on by her, but she stopped us.

"Now hold on! You two can't go into Amity Square unless you have a cute pokemon!" She stated.

"Are you for real?" Kyle glared at her. He placed his pokeballs on the counter. They fell into slots. I saw the woman look at a computer monitor behind the counter. She cringed. "Oh my. You don't have a single cute pokemon on you."

"Oh c'mon!" He seemed angry now.

"Umm why don't you check mine?" I laughed nervously as I set mine down. She returned Kyle's with disgust before checking the monitor again.

"Well, it is much better. But you still only have one that meets our criteria." She nodded. "The turtwig." She released him. "I guess he can go with your friend."

"Now hold on!" I grabbed my pokemon back. "You don't think Shinx or Riolu's cute?" I tossed out Riolu. "Show her how cute you are Riolu." Riolu hopped onto the counter, looking at the woman inquisitively.

She stood firm, until Riolu tilted his head to one side. "Lu?"

"Aww!" She squealed. "We'll have to add him to our list! Go on through." She opened the gates with an affectionate look on her face. Riolu waved innocently as he followed us through.

Kyle, Turtwig, Riolu and I all walked into the beautiful park. Turtwig ran strait for the berries to munch on. Riolu began playing with some wild Starly. We sat down on a bench to where we could watch them. I could feel the mist from a fountain nearby.

"Now, what's up?" I looked at him curiously. He stayed focused in front of him, well not really focused, sort of dazed actually. "Kyle? Is your head still hurting? Are you in pain?"

"What?" He looked over at me. "No, no it's not that. I'm fine really." He smiled softly. "You really worry about me too much."

"Well of course I do!" I said cheerily. "You're my friend after all."

He sighed, looking almost offended. "Right."

"Did I say something wrong?" I said quietly.

"No, it's not that Shonna… it's just something I've had on my mind for a while now."

"Well, go ahead then." I smiled. "You know you can talk to me."

"Yeah. I thought maybe after three years apart, things wouldn't be the same, but if anything, I feel… closer to you than ever."

Butterfrees in the stomach. I listened contently.

"But… I… I want…"

Suddenly a strong wave of fear came over me. I held my hands to my head in response.

"What's wrong?" I think he might have thought I was reacting to him.

"Riolu!" I jumped up from the bench. My head jerked from side to side looking for him. Him and Turtwig were nowhere in sight.

"Where are they?" Kyle struggled to stand.

I closed my eyes. _Okay, don't panic. Just concentrate. I was getting better at this after all._ I searched through the darkness. Finally, I found the aura signature. "This way! I'm going to run on ahead." I ran as fast as I could through the grassy field, and past a pond. _Why were they way back here?_ Past some trees at the far corner of the park, I spied a ton of cages and men in bodysuits. _Team Galactic!_


	15. Contests of Cuteness! Battle with Mars!

**x-x-x**

Episode 14: Contests of Cuteness! The Battle with Mars! 

"What do you think you're doing?" I ran into the middle of the goons. Riolu jerked his head back to look at me. He looked scared and a little beat up. A massive Purugly crept toward him and wrapped its tail around him in a tight coil.

"Luuu!" Riolu cried, unable to free himself. I felt the recoil of his emotions immediately and doubled over in pain.

"Well well, looks like one finally grew informed to what we were up to." A woman in a tight white body suit stepped forward. She looked no older than me. I thought at first it was the galactic I'd met earlier, Jupiter. But this woman walked around with a sultry swing, as if she were a harlot, and she had bright red hair. "Must have been this Riolu sending out sad signals to his little trainer. Guess we should have left him be." She cackled, watching Purugly squeeze the life out of him.

"Who are you! Leave Riolu alone!" I started to stand, but another wave pulse of pain shot through me. _What was going on? Our auras were never this in tuned before._ I fell to my knees again, and felt cold eyes on me. I looked up to see all the galactics that surrounded me. Behind them were crates and cages of pokemon, every one had a sad but cute face behind the bars. I spied Turtwig staring sadly at me. "Turtwig!" I tried to stand again.

"Mars." One of the grunts turned to his commander. "The helicopter will be here soon to pick up the captives. If you want to capture that one, you'd better do it now."

"In a minute." She sneered. "I'm just having fun. It seems this girl is sharing his pain. Purugly! Slam!"

Purugly's grip remained firm on Riolu as it persisted in banging him against the ground, a tree, anything it could find. The large cat's eyes glistened as it spied a barbed wire fence.

I held my head on the ground_. Is this what my pokemon go through? No, this pure torture. Administered from that awful Mars woman and her fat Purugly. Riolu's still so small. He doesn't stand a chance like this._ A tear rolled down my cheek.

"_Momma!"_ I heard the voice faintly. _"Let me grow big."_

"But Riolu…" I choked out. "I…"

"_Please momma! I don't wanna hurt you anymore!"_ The voice grew louder in my head.

"Wow. A few smacks and she's talking to herself." Mars cackled.

Anger welled inside me. _This wretched woman. She was going to pay._ I heard a helicopter loom in the distance, and knew there was no other choice. "Do it Riolu! Evolve!"

A bright light immediately filled the area. I heard the galactics gasp, and had to hold my eyes tight. When it finally died down, I saw Riolu grow out of the grasp of Purugly's tail. The Purugly merely stood stunned as it unwound its tail and stepped back.

The pain started to wither away, as I got to my knees, I looked up to the scene in front of me. The stubby bumps on Riolu's arms formed into spikes. Yellow fur blew against his chest. He was only slightly shorter than me. I couldn't help but admire this new, majestic creature. I was taken back a bit when I saw him smiling at me.

"What the? How on earth did you train it to evolve on command?" Mars looked just as surprised as me. "No matter. Purugly! Slam it again!"

"Mrrow!" The purugly stood firm, growling. It lunged, putting all it's weight forward. My tall blue pokemon simply held his foot up, stopping the cat mid attack. He turned and winked at me. I blushed a bit. He turned back to his attacker and gave it a stern kick to the face. "Mraaaooooow!" Purugly hit the crates behind him, knocking a couple of the cages open. A happiny and a Pikachu ran at the chance.

"Stop them!" Mars pointed, and a grunt followed her command. They chased after them stopping just short of the orange haired beast.

"Grrrr….." Arcanine growled as the baby pokemon hid behind his feet. Still clad in heavy bandaging, Kyle smiled down at me. He offered his hand to pull me up onto Arcanine's back.

"Kyle!" I smiled back. I wondered if he'd ever know how much he looked like a hero to me.

"Mmm, he's kinda cute. Wait a second…" Mars stood from coddling her Purugly. "A young couple with pokemon. Could it be?" Before I knew it, Mars snatched my bag. I jerked for it back, but she already had found her prize. She jumped back, the glistening pearl in her mitts. "Oh this is rich. The whole time you were the ones who stole the lustrous orb?" She laughed, placing it daintily in the coils of Purugly's tail. Purugly grinned slyly.

What happened next went very fast. A helicopter hovered over us, and a crane dropped down and began picking up cages, starting with Turtwig.

"Turtwig!" I cried. I chased frantically after it until my fingers latched onto the bottom of it. I felt myself lift off the ground. Suddenly I felt heat above me and saw the flames. A flamethrower attack from Arcanine was all it took to snap the steel cable holding us. I dropped just a few feet, still holding tight to Turtwig's cage. I toggled the simple latch and freed him.

"Twig!" Turtwig happily hopped out and ran behind Arcanine.

"_Heads up."_ I heard a cool voice say in my head. It sounded so calm and collected I thought at first it was Kyle. But when I looked back at him, he was looking in the other direction. I looked over to see my dashing new pokemon sneak up behind Purugly in an instant. A large blue bone appeared magically in his paws, and he took grasp of it. Purugly twisted around in time to see it smack into her tail. The orb flew toward me, and I dove to catch it. Once it was firmly back in my hands, I looked up to see them in the middle of some sort of strange sort of sword fight. One with a bone made of aura, one with a curly tail. It was obvious who'd win. Purugly smashed once more into mound of crates. Cute pokemon of all types came running out.

"Mrrrr!" Purugly groaned as it held its head.

"Purugly return!" I watched as the beam of light followed up to the helicopter, where Mars was standing on a dropped down rope ladder. The helicopter lifted up high before we could react. She glanced toward Kyle. "Hey cutie. If you ever think of leaving this leaving this loser, give me a call." She winked, twisting her butt in her tight bodysuit all the way up the ladder.

Kyle gave a look somewhere between shock and disgust. I puffed up in jealousy and sighed.

"Commander Mars!" The galactics around us stared uneasily. "You forgot us!"

"I think we can take care of that." I turned to see an Officer Jenny and several other officers with her. "Book em boys!" The officers surrounded them and began making arrests. I quickly tucked the orb back in my bag. Who knew where the galactics had stolen it from.

I don't know why, but I was half-surprised when Jenny thanked us. I knew it wasn't the same Jenny as the one who'd followed us in Kanto, but it seemed so strange to not be running at the sight of her. I looked back at Kyle, who shrugged in agreement. He looked even more uncomfortable as Jenny began complimenting and petting Arcanine.

"_No problem. I was just doing my job."_ I heard the voice again. Not Kyle. I turned_. "No no. Really it's nothing. My mom just trained me well, that's all." _He smiled back at me. I walked over to him as he was freeing pokemon from their cages. They all smiled and said something in their own language before taking off to the trainers that were quickly gathering around us who'd lost them. He smiled back at me, standing only a few feet in front of me.

"Ri.." I stopped myself. "Lu-Lucario?" I choked out, trying out the name for the first time.

"_That's right."_ He smiled again.

"Are you… I mean, do you still…" _How could I do it? How could I ask him if he remembered? If there was any piece of him that was my old Riolu?_

"_Of course I remember." _He smiled affectionately before tilting his head in a confused look. "Lu?"

"Oh… Lucario!" I ran into his arms, embracing him. He wrapped his paws around me, and I had to admit, it felt nice, being able to hug him like this.

"_See mom? Things are going to be better like this. I can protect you now."_

**x-x-x**

Kyle watched the crowd thin. Soon even the chatty Officer Jenny left the area, and the only ones left at the park's edge were himself, Shonna, and their pokemon. The stars were starting to appear in the sky above him. He needed to tell her it was time to go, but how could he? He stared at them again, laughing and smiling at some bizarre conversation that he could only hear one side of. Sometimes there was a long pause, and he guessed Shonna was merely thinking what she wanted to say instead of saying it out loud, because during these pauses he saw her emotions change. He felt a twinge of jealousy. That was probably silly. And he wasn't jealous in that way, just that she was able to connect with her pokemon on such a deep and personal level. He looked down at his loyal Arcanine, who was staring to nod off. Yes he could tell what he was thinking, but he longed to be able to talk to him like that.

Sensing some distress, Arcanine looked up at his master. "Arf?"

"Nothing boy." Kyle ruffled the fur on the dog before hopping down. "Why don't you get some sleep?" He recalled him to the pokeball around his neck.

Turning back to Shonna, he sighed. He was so close. It was on the tip of his tongue. Just one more minute and he would have told her everything. He wasn't sure how much longer he could go along with this ruse. The pain in his head was nothing compared to the turmoil in his heart. He put on a smile and walked to her and her lucario. He would just have to wait until next time.

**x-x-x**

Lucario's head jerked up. He looked suddenly serious. For the first time in our conversation, my head was quiet. Whatever he was thinking, he wasn't letting me in. I looked to what he was looking at. Kyle stood smiling at me.

"You ready to go?" He held my tired Turtwig in his arms. "It's getting late you know?"

I stared up to the sky. "Oh my gosh! It is. It's night already. Why didn't you tell me?" I recalled the sleepy Turtwig.

"Well, you just looked like you were having so much fun."

"That's true." I hugged Lucario close. "Look! I have a lucario now!"

"I see that." He smiled again. There was a hint of sadness behind it. I couldn't pinpoint why though. "The park's going to close soon."

"I know." I rushed up beside him, putting his arm around my shoulder. I saw him flush. "Are you okay? Is your head still hurting?" I wrapped my arm around his waist as we walked.

He shrugged me off. "I had a concussion Shonna, but I can walk just fine now."

"Alright then." I said uneasily. I looked back at Lucario, who was still looking serious. "Oh Lucario! Do you want to go back to your ball and rest?"

"_No, I'll walk with you today." _He said coolly. I smiled.

"What'd he say?" Kyle asked. It took me a minute to understand that he hadn't heard him.

"Huh? Oh. He said no." I began walking ahead and twisted on my heel to look back at them. "He's going to walk with us. By the way Kyle, what was it you were going to tell me earlier?"

Both Lucario and Kyle tensed up. _Odd._

"Umm… that. Don't worry about it. It can wait." Kyle said nervously.

"If you say so." I followed dumbfounded as we walked out of the park and to the pokemon center. After quickly healing our pokemon, we took a room. Kyle took the top bed, and I took bottom as always. We didn't say anything else besides our goodnights. I curled up under the covers and watched Lucario sit in a meditative position on the edge of the bed. He looked ready to spring at someone if they came near. I chuckled.

"_Like I said," _His voice rang through my head. _"I'm going to protect you now."_

I smiled, knowing he meant it.

**x-x-x**

Lucario followed behind us again the next morning. He seemed to be keeping an ever-watchful eye on me. It impressed and bemused me. Though he still seemed to remember his playful past, he seemed so serious now. I tried to look at it as him just being grown up, which he certainly was. Kyle walked solemnly beside me. He was acting strange as well. I sighed as we walked that morning toward the gym. The sun was just peeking out over the horizon, and it hit something in the corner of my eye, drawing me toward it.

"Wow! What is that?" I pushed my hands against the glass of the large building's window. Inside, a pretty little ribbon tied around a silver crest pin, glistened in the light.

"That's a contest ribbon." Kyle's reflection smiled at me in the glass. "People collect and win them like we do badges."

"Have you ever been in one?" I asked, pushing my nose against the window.

"Yes, I tried one in Hoenn once. Lost badly." He admitted.

"You actually lost?" I laughed.

"I'm not any good at those things. I think it's kind of a woman's thing."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, unsure of what he meant.

He held his hands up defensively. "You have to dress up your pokemon, make them dance, and show them off in battle. You know, make them look pretty, not just powerful."

"Oh, I think I get it." I looked back through the windowpane. "It's so beautiful. And it's purple. It'd match my outfit."

"Umm…" Kyle looked uncomfortable. "If you want I could try to get it."

"No. I'm going to win it!" I beamed. I turned to Kyle and Lucario.

"You are?" Kyle laughed. "You're going to have a lot of angry coordinators down your back if you win it just cause you think it looks pretty."

"Who cares? I wanna try." I raced into the building.

"Wait up Shonna! There's some things you need to know!" Kyle chased me into the lobby. Lucario followed silently.

Everyone there, (which was mostly young women) was dressed in formal attire. They were all swooning over their pokemon, brushing them to a shine and dressing them in matching outfits.

"See what I mean?" Kyle whispered. "It takes a certain type of person to enjoy these."

"I see. Do I have to dress up?"

"If you want to win."

"Fine." I waltzed over to a pc typing like the wind. A package arrived through the machine slot within seconds.

"What's that?" Kyle peeked around my shoulder.

"A dress silly." I ran for the changing rooms.

"A dress huh?" Kyle smiled a goofy smile. "Don't think I've seen that." Kyle glanced over at Lucario, who let out a low growl. "Hey what's your problem?"

Lucario turned away.

"I'm back!" I said, stuffing the last of my other clothes into my bag as I walked out. The long flowing dark blue dress hung to my ankles. It had tied straps and was decorated with shimmers and yellow stars pinned on it. I wore sparkly blue flats with it. I thought overall it looked good. I'd pulled out Shinx to use in the contest, and gave him a simple dark blue collar with a yellow star tag. It was originally for Delcatty, but he'd never wore it. It matched Shinx well, and I decided to leave it on him even after the contest. Shinx bounced beside me, his coat gleaming from the poffins he'd happily munched down to get the collar on.

I heard Kyle gasp. I stepped toward him, feeling embarrassed. Lucario looked surprised as well.

"You- You look so beautiful Shonna." Kyle said under his breath.

I blushed. "T-thank you." I felt like hiding in embarrassment.

He looked embarrassed himself, until he took a deep breath to regain his composure. "Really, you do. The outfit goes perfect with your blue eyes and blonde hair." He brushed back a piece that fell in front of my face. Looking away shyly, I noticed Lucario's paws in a fist. After giving him a funny look, he relaxed. "You know, I have something I've been saving for just the right occasion, but I think it'd look good on you now, so…" Kyle began digging through his backpack. He pulled out a small paper bag and handed it to me. "For you."

"What is it?" I pushed my fingers to the back of the bag, wrapping them around something long and metal. When I pulled it out, I almost dropped it in surprise. In fact, the paper bag did fall lightly to the floor. Shinx hunkered down and pounced himself into it.

It was a beautiful necklace with several bright blue gems shimmering on it. It was set in a silver chain.

"Kyle I…" I was at a loss for words. Finally the question came to me. "Where did you get this?" It looked like it was worth a lot.

"Well umm…" He looked nervous. "You know all those gems we dug up in the Orebourgh Mine? Well, I didn't sell them all. And I…"

He went on about how he had kept the blue ones and had a necklace made from them for me while I was fighting the gym, but everything he said was fuzzy. I kept thinking how nice he was, to have done that. And this makes the second romantic gift he's given me. I sighed happily as I threw my arms over his shoulders and hugged him close, holding tight to my gift. I felt him tense up as my cheek brushed against his. I was close to his ear, so I whispered. "Thank you Kyle. Thank you so much."

He blushed and smiled as he wrapped his arms around me. I felt so light and happy. He'd always made me feel this way. Though I had no idea how I would ever even begin to tell him. I backed off slightly, and opened my mouth to speak, when I felt Lucario's paws gently push me away.

"_May I cut in?"_ I heard him ask, as he twirled me away from earshot of Kyle.

"Lucario?" I looked back at Kyle who was staring at me with a mystified look. "What is it?" I placed the pretty necklace around my neck, fastening the clasp.

"_Shonna. You shouldn't get so close to him."_ He said seriously.

"Oh come now, you're not jealous are you?" I pinched his cheek. "You know I'll always love you."

"_It's not like that. I've been listening to his thoughts. I can only make out bits and pieces of it, but it's not good."_

"What do you mean?"

"_He said 'I can't keep going along with this ruse."_ Lucario hung his head.

"What you saying Lucario? You think him caring for me is some kind of act?" I glared angrily at him.

"_I don't know. But he keeps thinking he's going to hurt you. Hurt your friendship with him? And I won't let him hurt you."_

_Is this what he wanted to tell me yesterday in the park? That he was actually sick of being around me? That he was only pretending to like me? That just can't be. I'd imagined something completely the opposite, but perhaps that was just my imagination_. I continued thinking to myself, knowing Lucario was listening in. He shrugged sadly.

I looked back to Kyle. He wasn't looking at me anymore. He was playing peek-a-boo with Shinx as the playful cub hid in the paper sack. _If he wants to leave, why doesn't he just go? Instead of making me lo-…_ I stopped myself. I didn't want Lucario to hear that. He didn't seem to have noticed.

"I'm doing wonderfully darling!" A woman in a surprising similar dress as mine walked around a large crowd. Hers was purple and had yellow x's on it. She had bright purple hair that stuck up in large balls. She noticed me looking at her and looked at me, then my dress. She stepped toward me. "Ma cherie, by chance, why are you impersonating me?"

"What? I'm not." I glared. She'd caught me in a bad mood. "The dress is similar, but I would never want to impersonate your awful hair. What are you trying to be? A magneton?"

"Is that how it is?" She glared back. "Well your hair is plain and dull. I wouldn't be caught dead looking so ordinary. It's flair all the way for me."

"Trust me, you make it known. You're a real show-off ostentatious snob."

"Ah!" The woman gasped. "Fine, I'll show you how detached I am to my things. If you win this contest, I'll give you whatever you want. Money, jewels, whatever.

"Okay, and if you win?" I raised one eyebrow in intrigue.

"Well there's nothing of yours I want, so I suppose you'll just have to become one of my servants in my mansion."

_This pompous woman couldn't actually be any good. I looked back at Kyle. Why did it matter anyway? Even if I lost, maybe that'd make him happy. He'd be rid of me. _"Fine." I agreed, shaking the woman's perfectly manicured hands.

"_Shonna. You've never even entered a contest before. What are you thinking?"_ Lucario asked once she'd walked away. A posse of fans followed behind her. One drifted over to me.

"You're so lucky." The young starry-eyed girl approached me. "The great Fantina actually talked to you."

"Oh please." I grunted, annoyed. "The great Fantina can shove it."

"How can you say that?" She gasped. "She's the top supporter of the contest hall here! If it wasn't for her it wouldn't have even been erected in the first place. She practically owns it."

_Great. That meant she was probably not bad at contests._ "Yeah I know she has a lot of money." I waved my hand in a nonchalant sort of way.

"Not only that, but she's highly respected in the community. Being the city's gym leader and all. You're just dumb to talk to her in that way." The girl took off after her fellow Fantina fans.

I tensed up. "Lucario. Did she just say Fantina was the Hearthome gym leader?"

Lucario sighed_. "That she did."_

"Well crap."

**x-x-x**

I must have seemed kind of distant when I joined Kyle again after registering for the contest. I couldn't stop repeating Lucario's observations in my head. I just didn't know what to think of it. Even as he was standing in front of me, trying to tell me how to win a contest, I couldn't help but think about it. As they called my group of contestants out, I took the trunk of borrowed pokemon clothes I'd asked Erica to deliver and headed to the doorway.

"Don't forget to make him look cute! This is a cute contest!" Kyle called out. Lucario wearily stood behind him.

"What would you know about it anyway?" I muttered under my breath. I was far enough away now to where he wouldn't hear. From the audience cheering around the stadium, I almost didn't hear it myself. I twirled and tossed out Shinx. I regretted not having bought a seal for his pokeball, but as if he had heard me, Shinx let out a light spray of sparks that enticed the audience. Other contestants awed. I saw Fantina and her drifloon glare.

"Now!" The announcer blared. "The theme for this weeks costume contest is 'The lover!' You have 5 minutes to dress your pokemon accordingly!"

"Just peachy." I mumbled. I really needed that reminder. I opened the giant trunk, praying Erica had something I could use. I frantically pulled a dressy shirt over Shinx. It was black with a wide collar. Some of his blue fur poked out from the large neck in it.

I placed a dark blue cape over it. I had to admit he looked like a man from a romance novel. I glanced over at Fantina. A couture dress for her Drifloon of course, and a long flowing purple wig. A low blow move crossed my mind. I handed Shinx a red rose and whispered something into his ear. He nodded before crossing the stage to Drifloon. The Drifloon stared blushing as he dropped the rose at her feet. The audience cooed. I watched Fantina cringe as my points went way up. Round one, Shonna.

"Well well folks, looks like that Shinx knows his part. Moving on to the dance competition! Music maestro?" The announcer turned to a DJ, who played some classical remix. I watched as Fantina waltzed gracefully across the stage. Drifloon moved perfectly in sync with her. I looked down at Shinx who looked back at me confused.

"Oh shoot. I don't know. Just have fun." I laughed. I've always sucked at dancing, and I'm sure it showed in me and Shinx's moves. I pulled out every weird trick I could, but watched in dismay as my points plummeted. Fantina's came to match mine.

"Fantina and her Drifloon really know how to cut a rug!" The announcer grinned. "Moving on, our favorite part. The battles!"

The other contestants were easy enough to beat. Shinx tore them up with his cute face and powerful sparks. I tried with every move to emphasize his cuteness, but I had to admit, this wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't care about any of this. I just wanted to fight Fantina and go. It wasn't long before I got my wish.

"This is it folks! The final battle to determine who walks away with the Hearthome ribbon! Our local favorite is here. Fantina, as well as a challenger new to contests, Shonna!" The audience cheered. A timer appeared on the large screen above us.

Fantina stood on the opposite end of the stadium, Drifloon beside her. I looked down at Shinx. "You ready?"

"Shinx! Shinx!" Shinx happily took center stage.

Fantina got the first turn. "Drifloon, minimize!" She cried.

The drifloon grew smaller in size, making it almost look like a baby. The audience cooed. Her points went up.

"Shinx! Charge!" I commanded. Shinx wound up a ton of electricity letting off sparks in a spray. They shimmered around him as they fizzled out in the air. My points went up to match Fantina's.

"No more fooling around. Drifloon, use Astonish!" Fantina growled.

Drifloon floated toward Shinx and pushed a surge of dark energy toward him. Shinx stood motionless and shocked. The audience groaned at his lack of response. My points went way down.

"Shinx! Snap out of it and use Bite!" I called, hoping he'd know what I meant.

Shinx ran up to Drifloon, grabbing his strings in his teeth. He playfully bounced around the stage with his makeshift balloon. The audience went wild. Major points for me.

"Drifloon! Get away with gust!" Drifloon did just that as he puffed out air that blew him away. Drifloon swirled in the wind before gracefully landing. Shinx had to hold himself grounded. My points went down, hers went up. "Now use Constrict Drifloon!" Drifloon floated over wrapping his strings around Shinx tightly. She'd set herself up for this one. With each wrap, my points went down.

"Shinx! You know what to do! Use Spark!" I cried. Shinx followed my command and gave Drifloon a good shocking. The pokemon looked fried, but composed as it let go. Shinx stood, looking tough, which did little to raise my points. Fantina must have known this. Time was running out, and she had the lead.

These battles were like roller coasters. I hated it. I needed to figure out something to tip the scales. I watched helplessly as the clock ticked down and Drifloon persisted in constricting Shinx. In her cute little outfit, it looked more like she was hugging Shinx then hurting him.

"That's it!" It clicked. "Shinx! Thief!"

Shinx looked surprised at first, then it clicked with him as well. He reached up with his teeth and stole the wig right off Drifloon's head. She let go in surprise. Shinx took off with it in his mouth. He rolled over with it, playfully pawing at his new toy.

"Shinx Shinx!" He beamed.

"Awww!" The audience giggled and laughed insanely. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight either. The only one not impressed was Fantina. Her now bald pokemon lost major points, putting me in the lead by a hair.

"Astonish Drifloon!" I could sense the urgency in Fantina's voice. Just as Drifloon moved in, a bright light filled the stadium. I looked down to see my Shinx turn to a Luxio. The audience sat on the edge of their seat in awe. It hadn't occurred to me that most of them probably had never seen a pokemon evolve before. Drifloon stood there shocked as Luxio growled in a still somewhat cubbish roar. Drifloon hid scared behind Fantina. My points skyrocketed.

The timer blared, signaling the end of the match.

"That's it folks! It was so close there for a minute, that it was difficult to tell, but with that last development Shonna has won!" The announcer pulled me into the center of the stage. I tried to find Kyle in the audience, but there were just too many people. I felt the announcer push something into my hand and hold it up for the crowd. "She's won the Hearthome Contest Ribbon!"

He continued going on about things, but I had my eyes on the fleeing Fantina. I left abruptly, ribbon in hand. Luxio followed obediently behind. We chased after her.

"Hmph. You won mon cherie." Fantina said without turning around. "What do you want? Money? You could use a new wardrobe so you don't have to steal my look."

I bit my tongue on that one. "The only thing I want from you is a gym badge."

"But why? You have the ribbon." She said surprised.

"I'm not a coordinator. I'm a trainer. I only entered for fun." I admitted.

"What? You beat me and you don't even want to be a coordinator?" She began laughing. "I must have really lost my touch. How humbling." She pulled a small badge off the front of her dress. "Lucky you I have one on me."

I looked down at the ribbon in my hand. "You want to trade?" I said, trying to be nice.

"Please." Fantina shoved the badge into my hand. "I have like ten of them already." She turned on her high heels, prancing out. Her fan base was not too far behind. I escaped the paparazzi that were looking for me by rushing Luxio and myself into the changing room. But I'd left my bag with Kyle. I sulked, hoping the newscasters would give up and leave. I saw under the door a pair of feet stop beside it. I was afraid they'd found me until my bag slid under the door. I grabbed for it and quickly switched clothes. I placed Luxio's clothes back in the trunk. I'd have to send it back to Erica sometime. I pulled my blue coat over me. The new ribbon I had pinned to the collar of it matched perfectly with the purple t-shirt underneath. I left my new blue necklace on, but wrapped my scarf tightly around it. I put the new badge in my trainer case and recalled Luxio.

"_It's all clear."_ I heard Lucario's voice say from outside. I poked my head out. Kyle and Lucario were waiting.

"Shonna! That was awesome!" Kyle ran up to me. "Your Shinx evolving like that! And you won on the first try!"

"Yeah." I said flatly. "Be right back. I'm going to send these things back." I packed the dress and flats back into the box, sending them to mom via pc. Then I sent the trunk of pokeclothes to Erica.

"A lot of your pokemon are evolving huh?" Kyle said, all smiles.

"Yeah well, it's about that time for all of them. Turtwig should be soon too."

"That's great. And did Fantina give you the badge for beating her?"

"Yep."

"I figured so." Then there was an awkward pause.

"Kyle, I'm kind of tired. Can we go back to the pokemon center?"

"Sure." He looked surprised at first, then smiled. "I guess you have had a big day. I don't know anyone else who can get a contest ribbon and gym badge in the same day."

I nodded. We started walking.

"Shonna? You've been acting strange ever since I gave you that necklace. You've been treating me different. Do you not like it?"

"It's not that at all Kyle!" I blurted out. I took a deep breath. "I love it. It's beautiful."

"Then tell me what's wrong." He glanced back at Lucario, who was walking a few paces behind us. "Do we need to get away from him to talk?"

"No…" I huffed.

Kyle took my hand and held it tight in his. I felt chills run up my spine. "You know you can talk to me."

We walked silently to the pokecenter. Hand in hand. _This can't all just be an act. _I screamed in my head. _It just can't!_ "Go on in and get us room. I'll be there in a minute."

"You sure Shonna?" He still had a grasp on my hand.

I pulled away gently. "I'm sure."

**x-x-x**

Kyle sighed as he walked into the center. Joy gave him a key to the same room they'd had yesterday. He knew she hadn't been reacting this way to the necklace, but he couldn't figure out why else. It must've been something Lucario said. But what could he have said to cause this change in her? Did he, did he know what he'd been thinking? Did he tell her his secret? If so, this was exactly what he'd expected. That she'd withdraw from him. If that's the case, it wasn't even worth telling her. He pushed the thought out of his head, but his heart still ached. When would this be over?

**x-x-x**

"Lucario." I said in a dead voice. "Will you meet me out here tomorrow morning? I need to talk to you."

"_Why can't we talk now?"_ He asked, crossing his arms.

"I'm too tired to explain it." I said dryly. "Please?"

"_Yeah, that's fine ma."_ He wrapped his paws around me. We walked in together and I went straight to bed. Kyle was already in his bed. Lucario sat down in a corner of the room. I climbed the short ladder to Kyle's bunk. He turned to me with a blush on his face. It quickly dissipated.

"Well well. Going to join me tonight?" He held his arms out.

I laughed. "You wish." I sat on the edge and pulled out the gauze. "I'm just here to change your dressing. Now sit up."

He did as I said and sat up in the bed. I removed the old bandages and after dabbing on some antiseptic, began wrapping a new one. "Your wound's healing nicely. I'd say you won't need this anymore after tomorrow.

"If you say so Nurse Shonna." He winked. Memories of that nurse impersonation came back to me.

"Hmph." I smiled, tying the knot behind his head. I was careful to not entangle any locks of his russet brown hair. I stopped and absentmindedly ran my fingers through it. It glistened red with the sunset light coming through the window. I realized he was staring at me. I didn't want to lose him. For all I knew he could leave tonight. It wasn't likely, but I didn't really know. _Perhaps I should make the most of this moment._ I left my hand behind his head and gently pushed him toward me. I kissed him softly on the forehead. "You get better now." I sighed, pulling away and sliding over to the ladder. "Goodnight, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

I couldn't get his handsome face, or the flush on it off my mind all night.


	16. A Storm In Our Hearts!

**x-x-x**

Episode 15: A Storm In Our Hearts!

I got up extra early that morning, before Kyle had even woke up. Lucario greeted me at the doorway and we walked down to the local poffin house. Luxio and Turtwig had eaten most of my supply, so I needed to make more. I stood there beside the pot, churning away with a dazed look. I wasn't paying much attention and almost sloshed it out. I finished up the last batch and handed one to Lucario.

"_What'd you need to talk about Mom?" _He munched away.

"Kyle." I said bluntly as I packed away the poffins.

"_I haven't seen any more of his thoughts sorry. It's hard enough to read your mind. Reading his is a real challenge."_

"Quit trying." I sat on a stool. "Quit trying Lucario. I don't wanna know."

"_What do you mean?" _He asked, mouth agape.

"I don't want you to read Kyle's mind. It doesn't matter to me."

"_But I need to know, that way if he…"_

"Kyle will never hurt me!" I screamed at him. People turned to look at me. I'm sure they thought I was crazy. Maybe I was. I lowered my voice. "I know he won't. You'll just have to trust me Lucario, and him."

"_How can you be so sure?" _

"I love him Lucario. I love him. That's how I know."

Lucario stepped back in shock. I have to admit, even I was impressed that I was able to keep my feelings from entering his head. I don't think he knew it was that serious. He remained quiet.

"Now, I'm going to have to ask you to get in your pokeball." I held it up, pressing the button.

"_No!"_ He dodged the beam of light. _"I'm not leaving you by yourself."_

"I can take care of myself just fine. What's with this protective demeanor anyway? You never acted like this as a riolu."

"_But that's why I wanted to evolve in the first place."_ He dodged the light again.

"I don't need you for this! Now get in your pokeball! I'm your trainer Lucario! Do as I say!" I pushed the pokeball into his chest. He gave me a glum look before sinking into the light.

I looked around me. People all around the poffin house were staring at me. Some shook their heads and some whispered to each other. They probably thought I abused him. I walked out feeling their eyes on me. I held my bag close to me as I walked up the sidewalk toward the pokecenter. When I got to the building, Kyle was leaned against the side of it.

"Good morning!" He called out.

"Not so far…" I mumbled. "Good morning Kyle!" I approached him slowly.

"Where's Lucario? Did he finally decide to go back into his pokeball?"

I simply nodded.

"Well, you ready to move on? There's nothing else here." He said with a smile. I wondered if it was fake. _Ready to move on? Move on from what? Us?_ I was taking things out of context now. I needed to calm down. I needed to talk to him.

"Sure. Let's go." We walked slowly. There was a swamp like area ahead of us. One Kyle's bike couldn't go through. I walked a fair distance away, to some thick brush and changed into my work clothes. When I came back, I carefully maneuvered around the puddles, until we came across an unavoidable mud pit. Kyle let out Arcanine, and we rode comfortably on his back.

"So uh…" Kyle seemed hesitant. "What was that about? Last night I mean."

I sighed. "I don't know."

"Oh." He sighed as well. We finally emerged from the muddy gulch. A town was just north of us, but Arcanine ran to the pristine beach that hit the edge of the town. We slid off the back of his tail, as it was the only clean part other than his head and back. When we did, he took off into the water to play. I remembered a time when Arcanine was scared of the water. Kyle must have trained him to like it. I sat down on the white sand. Kyle sat beside me, and I knew now was as good a time as ever.

"Kyle, I need to talk to you about something." I wrapped my arms around my knees.

"Okay. Me too." He smiled faintly. I was so afraid of what he might say.

"First off, I'm sorry I've been acting strange lately. Lucario took a peek into your thoughts and saw something. He told me some things, and I wish he'd never said it."

He looked surprised. "Did he tell you everything?"

"Just a bit. That's all he could see." I hung my head.

"And, that's why you're acting like you hate me."

"It's not that!" I yelled. "I'm just scared. I don't want it to be true. And even if it is, I don't care."

"You don't?" He looked away. "I was afraid you'd say that. Look Shonna. Even if it's something you don't want to hear, I have to tell you. I can't let this sit and brood anymore." He paused before starting again. "I don't want to…"

"Don't say it!" I screamed. "I know you don't want to be with me anymore. I know you're just sticking around because you're afraid you'll hurt my feelings. I know I'm holding you back and you want to move on." Tears rolled down my face. "But I don't care Kyle! I just can't hear it from you. I'd rather go on and pretend nothing's different then to hear you say that." I refused to look at his face. Instead I buried my face into my knees. "Just go." I whispered.

"Is that what you think this is?" He pulled my arm, forcing me to look at him. "You really thought I was going to leave you?"

I sniffled. "Lucario said you didn't want to be friends with me. That you couldn't go on with this ruse."

"That's partially true. Shonna I can't pretend anymore. I don't want to be 'just friends' anymore." He gripped my arm tighter. "I want to be more than your friend."

My stomach did a flip flop. _No way. There was no way this was actually happening. Five seconds ago I thought I was losing the best thing that ever happened to me, and suddenly…_

"Shonna." He said with a pained expression. "If you'll have me, I want to be your boyfriend. I love you, and everyday that I'm with you, and know that I can't act out on it, just kills me."

My mouth hung agape, but no words came out. Kyle's grip on me lessened. He sighed, as if a heavy burden were off his shoulders. He looked away briefly, a blush on his face. "I'm not expecting you to feel the same right away, but I think it'd come in time, if you decide to give it a shot."

"How long?" I managed to get out. "How long have you felt this way?"

"I'm not sure. Probably a little in Kanto, though I denied it to myself. All I know is my time in Johto and Hoenn was awful without you. I thought about you every day, and I really only kept going because gym battles temporarily took my mind off you." He looked back at me with a sad smile. "When I finally got here, I rushed though all the gyms along the way to try and get to Solacean Town. At first I'd only planned on seeing you, making sure you were okay and moving on. But when we started talking again, it felt like nothing had changed between us." He smiled slightly.

"I know what you mean." I smiled back. When I saw him looking into my eyes, I turned away in embarrassment. Dark clouds loomed in the distance out toward the sea. Arcanine stiffened, staring at them. I wasn't sure what he was worried about. They were miles away. The salty breeze wisped through my hair. Kyle caught a piece, gently rubbing it between his fingers before tucking it behind my ear. I needed to tell him the truth. I owed him that. "Kyle, do you want to know the real reason I left so suddenly back in Kanto? Why I didn't want to stay in contact?"

He looked down sadly, as if just the reminder of that incident pained him. "Sure."

"I had fallen in love with you. I thought you were so cool back then. Like the kind of guy girls my age would swoon for. I kept telling myself I wouldn't act so ridiculous, but before I knew it, I had." I paused to look at him. He looked utterly shocked. "It only made things worse when you'd flirt with me. I thought until just now that you were just teasing me. I thought… a guy like you could never like me. Not that way anyway." I blushed. "I thought if I ended things quick, and on a sour note, it would make the feelings go away. But they never really did. As soon as I saw you coming up that hill back in Solaceon, they hit me again like a ton of bricks."

"Oh Shonna." Kyle beamed a radiant smile before wrapping his arms around me. I felt heat pour into my face as it was pressed tightly against his chest. He held me in this silent embrace for what felt like an eternity, which I must say, I wouldn't have minded. "I'm so happy." I heard him whisper. I smiled softly, pulling my hand up to rest on his shoulder.

"Me too." I whispered back, closing my eyes and listening to his heartbeat drown out the crashing waves of the ocean. The wind picked up, but I felt so warm I didn't really notice.

Abruptly, a beam of red light poured out from behind us, where our bags were laying. _Oh no… please no Lucario. Just give me this one moment!_ I pleaded in my head. I waited for a response. None came, so I opened my eyes. I jumped a little in Kyle's arms when I saw it.

"Sol!" The large wolf-like monster barked.

"Not now Absol." Kyle held me dreamily. "Wait, what are you doing out of your pokeball?"

"You have an Absol?" I questioned.

"Solll!" The Absol tugged at Kyle's sleeve.

"Yeah. I caught it in Hoenn." He shrugged her off. "What's wrong with you?"

"I always thought absol were neat." I reached out to touch her but she stepped away. "I've never seen one before, but I always thought it was so cool how they would appear to people right before a natural disaster."

"Arf!" Arcanine ran up to us. He looked distraught.

"What? Now you too?" Kyle jerked his head up to look at him. I did the same, and it wasn't until then I noticed those ominous dark clouds were not so far away now. And ocean was churning. The tide came in hard and hit my feet. I yanked them away from the cold. At first we were simply stunned until the siren could be heard in the direction of Pastoria City. A hurricane was coming. Kyle grabbed my hand and the bags as we ran for Arcanine, jumping onto his back. He recalled Absol swiftly, and we took off.

The wet sand clumped in Arcanine's paws, slowing him down. I looked behind me to try and see the storm, but my hair kept flying in front of my face, and I was too afraid to let go of Kyle's waist to fix it.

Before long, I knew how close it was. I yelped as cold water poured onto my back and washed in front of us, standing so tall Arcanine was briefly swimming in it. "Hang on Shonna! Arcanine! Extreme speed!" He yelled as he gripped tight to the thick orange fur.

We sped through the sands like a bullet. No longer playing chicken with the ocean behind us. Pastoria City sat just ahead. I looked back at the storm from the top of Arcanine as Kyle checked the houses at the edge of the city. It looked like we had maybe 5 minutes before it hit us. Maybe. He knocked and knocked, and tugged on the doors. No answer. He climbed back up on Arcanine. "It's no good. They must have already evacuated the city."

"What are we going to do?" I didn't realize it, but I was tugging on my necklace nervously.

"Do you know which way the pokemon center is here? It's probably not locked."

"I'm sorry. I haven't been here since I was little. I don't remember."

It started pouring the rain. Arcanine ran with no direction, but it was better than just standing there. We passed a shop, the gates to the Great Marsh, and finally, though we almost missed it, we arrived at the tiny pokemon center. From using extreme speed the whole way to get us there, Arcanine flopped to the ground, exhausted.

"Thanks for getting us here Arcanine." He hugged the giant dog around the neck before recalling him. "Now get some rest." We bolted for the door, and I hit it full force.

"Ow!" I cried, rubbing my face. "Why didn't it open?" I stomped on the panel beside the automatic door.

"Storm must have knocked the power out." Kyle grabbed the side of the door, trying to will it open. I searched frantically. _Aren't there supposed to be manual doors too?_

A flash of red light came again. This time from my bag. Lucario stood stunned.

"Lucario!" I jerked out the pokeball. "Get back in here now! It's dangerous out here!" I screamed. The wind was so strong, it jerked the pokeball right out of my hand, it blew a few feet away. "Oh no." I chased after it.

Lucario didn't say anything but instead ran to help Kyle. Together, they pushed the door open. I reached for the pokeball, but again it blew away again. I ran a little further, desperately wiping at my soaked glasses. Finally, my hands grasped around the ball. I smiled triumphantly.

"Shonna!" What are you doing! Get back here now!" Kyle screamed. He sounded farther away than I expected. I felt an odd, scared sensation coming from Lucario. Something I hadn't felt since he was a Riolu.

Along with the whistling sound of the storm, a new sound came. An awful, cracking, snapping sound. I turned to see a power pole twist and shake in front of me. It snapped from the attached lines, and the transformer at the top sparked. By some strange twist of fate it was still energized, and falling toward me. I stood staring at it helplessly, until I was suddenly shoved into the mud.

"Rarrrrrrrrr!" I heard him cry, and felt it through every vein in my body. I didn't have to look to know what had happened, but I turned anyway. Lucario was laying on the ground under the pole. He pushed the pole off of his body, it shocking him the whole time. Once it was safely off him, he flopped back into the mud.

"Lucario!" I screamed, running to him. Kyle joined my side, making sure I was okay. I leaned down beside Lucario scooping up his head. He smiled weakly at me.

"_I told you I was going to protect you." _He said as he drifted into unconsciousness.

"Lucario!" I screamed again. Tears ran down my cheeks but were quickly washed away with the rain. My long blonde hair blew violently in the wind.

"Shonna. Recall him. We have to go." Kyle said, pulling me up to stand.

I sniffled intensely as I recalled him and followed Kyle inside the center. Once inside, I immediately checked all the equipment. It was all dead. The machine to heal our pokemon wouldn't turn on. We'd just have to do it the old fashioned way. I grabbed an armful of gauze, potions, bandages, and whatever else I could find. A window shattered nearby me, and I jumped away.

"Let's go." Kyle dragged me down the stairs, closing the door behind us. It rattled. He pushed his heavy book bag against it. With no power, it was pitch dark in the pokecenter basement. I felt Kyle aimlessly feeling for something. His hand grazed my breast.

"What are you doing?" I yelled, almost dropping all the stuff I was holding.

"Trying to find this!" He yelled back as he pulled something out of my bag and threw it. Rapidash stood in the middle of the room, illuminating it with a soft blue glow. Next I saw him reach for one on his belt, pulling Charmeleon out. Now the whole room was lit up. We walked silently down the stairs as I ran to a corner of the room. I released Lucario and he continued to lay lifelessly on the floor. Charmeleon walked over to light my area. "What are you going to do?" Kyle asked from behind me.

"I only know a little pokemon first aid from working in the day-care center. But hopefully it'll be enough." I said as I fumbled with the gauze and medicine. He had a couple burns from where he was electrocuted. I quickly cleaned the area and sprayed potion after potion over them. Bandaging him up, I worked diligently to heal him. After a minute, I could sense him relax, as he continued to sleep. "Thank goodness. He's going to be alright."

"How can you tell?" Kyle asked.

"He told me." I smiled. "Not in words, but through his aura."

"Oh. You're getting pretty good at this aura stuff."

"Thanks. We're working on it." I stood, handing him a potion. "This should make Arcanine feel better too. All he needs is rest, but this will speed up his recovery."

He smiled. "I'm glad I have you." He walked to the opposite side of the room and released Arcanine. As he sprayed the potion over him, I wondered how we'd managed to fit ourselves and four pokemon in such a tiny room and chuckled to myself. I walked around the room, going behind a large shelf to change out of my muddy wet work clothes. I wiped my face off with a handkerchief, and put on my clean ones on. I threw the dirty overalls into a washer, though I knew I couldn't start it yet. I looked around me. It was where they stored pokemon, but all the shelves for the pokeballs were empty. _They must have already sent them over to another center. But what about the pokemon that lived in the Great Marsh? I wonder if they're okay._

"Thank you for that." Kyle came around the corner and surprised me. "It did seem to help him." I spied over his shoulder. He'd already put Arcanine back up. "Now, where were we?" He outstretched his arms, and I felt the butterfrees in my stomach again. Out of embarrassment, I muttered something even I didn't understand. His arms lowered.

"Oh sorry." He mumbled. "That was silly of me. I'm moving too fast with this aren't I?"

"What? No. It's okay." I blurted. "I-I like it." I moved closer to him.

He smiled and walked with his arm over my shoulder as we went to a corner of the room and sat down. He held me just like we were at the beach, before all this happened. It was quiet for a long time. "Shonna?"

"Yes?" I leaned my head up to look into his eyes. I was mesmerized by how the blue flames from Rapidash reflected in them, making them a teal color.

"Don't ever scare me like that again okay?" He looked serious.

"You think I wanted that to happen?" I said crossly.

"Of course not. But I was just so scared." He brushed another piece of hair behind my ear. "I don't want to lose you. Especially when I just got you."

I laughed. "What do you mean? I've been traveling with you again for what? Over 6 months now?"

"I mean…" He cupped his hand around my face. "I just got you as my girlfriend."

I gulped. "G-girlfriend?" It hadn't hit me yet.

"Is that okay?" He frowned.

"Y-yeah." I blushed, smiling nervously. "I like it." _Oh my gosh!_ I kept going over it in my head. _I had a boyfriend! Not just a friend who happened to be a boy, but a boyfriend!_ I took a deep breath, grinning inwardly. _And he's totally hot! I can't wait to tell Erica! Oh… what am I going to tell Mom? She won't take kindly to me traveling with my boyfriend. I'm pretty sure she doesn't even know I'm with anyone at all._ I grimaced.

"Something wrong?" Kyle worked his hand down from my face to behind my neck, eventually weaving his fingers through my wet hair. I tried to stop my heart from racing.

"No. Nothing. Other than this storm." I sighed. "I hope it lets up soon."

"It might not." Kyle held me tighter. "It might take days. I've heard of ones here that do. What's up with Sinnoh and these storms? It's a pretty regular thing here."

"It's all because of what's going on atop Mt. Coronet. I said, hugging him back. "Ever since it started a year ago, storms like this have plagued Sinnoh."

"This has been going on for a year?"

"About that. Actually it's always been bad, for as long as I can remember, but it seems to get worse each day. In the past year or two it has gotten even worse." I clung tightly to his shirt, as I buried my face into his chest.

"I see…" He wrapped his arms around me. I kept an eye on the time on my Poketch, until eventually my eyes got heavy around midnight. I couldn't hold on our conversation, and before I knew it, I was out like a light.


	17. The Pastoria Pickup Plan!

**x-x-x**

Episode 16: The Pastoria Pick-up Plan!

A thumping sound woke me up. I blushed when I realized I had somehow fallen asleep with my head on Kyle's lap. I raised up. He sat motionless. _Thump Thump. _It was coming from the door. I got up, still half asleep, and stumbled to the stairs, pulling the backpack away from the door. A growlithe burst through.

"Is anyone in here?" An Officer Jenny stood behind him, flashlight in hand. "Oh my goodness. Have you been down here all day?"

"I don't know." I said sleepily. I rubbed my eyes and glanced at my poketch. 1:20 pm. "Umm, actually we've been here since yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Jenny stood shocked. Her growlithe ran down the stairs. "You mean during the hurricane? Why didn't you evacuate with the rest of the city?"

"I guess we must have got here just after that." I yawned.

The growlithe ran up to Kyle, licking his face. "Arf!"

"Huh? Wha?" He raised up sleepily. "Arcanine? When'd you turn into a growlithe again?"

"There's someone else with you?" Jenny peered into the room, flipping on the light switch. Kyle, me, Rapidash and Charmeleon all cringed. "Is anyone hurt?"

"No I…" I answered, then stopped. "Lucario." I mumbled, rushing down the stairs to his side.

He opened his eyes slowly and smiled at me. _"You did a good job fixing me up mom."_

"Oh Lucario." I kneeled down beside him. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"_I am."_ He leaned up, then winced holding his side. _"I just don't think I'll be fighting in this gym battle here. Is it okay if I sit this one out?"_

"You take all the time you need." I put my hand on his shoulder. "Thank you. For saving me." I leaned in and kissed his nose, causing him to blush.

"_Ma! Not in front of everyone." _Lucario looked around uneasily. He caught Kyle gazing at me lovingly and looked back at me.

_Oh Lucario. It's the most wonderful thing._ I said in my head. _He doesn't want to leave me at all! He loves me! He asked me to be his girlfriend! _I giggled silently.

"_Ew."_ He crossed his arms. _"That's even worse."_

"Hey!" I punched his arm lightly, forgetting his injuries. He whimpered. "Oh gosh!" I said aloud. "I'm sorry!"

"_It's okay."_ He laughed. _"So, did you accept?"_

"You bet I did!" I laughed as well.

"Umm, excuse me." Jenny interrupted. "Is she talking to herself?" She looked at Kyle for confirmation.

"No!" He laughed. "She can use telepathy with her Lucario."

"Oh really?" Jenny stared back at me flabbergasted. Her growlithe stood at her feet staring at her. "That's amazing!"

"Yeah," I heard him say softly. "She is amazing."

"Well listen. If everyone's okay, you need to clear out of this area. The city is starting to return, and I know Joy needs to come down here and work." Jenny and her growlithe raced back up the stairs. We recalled our pokemon, got a load of laundry going, and followed suit.

"I'm going to go use the healing machine." I hurried off in its direction before giving anything else a second glace. I set the five pokeballs onto the machine and pushed the power button. The machine beeped and bobbled back to life. A light shown around the pokeballs, indicating it was done. I felt relieved knowing it made Lucario and the others feel a lot better. "Thank goodness." I murmured. I turned, smiling, until I saw the sight around me.

Everything in the center was a mess. Overturned gurneys, shelves, and medicine laid half hazard in the floor. Nurse Joy and some chansey were working frantically to clean the place up. Kyle stood motionless in the doorway. I approached him and gasped at the sight outside.

The hurricane had certainly done some heavy damage. People were just starting to drive back into town, but they couldn't get very far from the broken trees and utility poles in the road. I was surprised they were able to get power to the center. Maybe they'd just turned on the back-up generator.

"Excuse me." Joy quietly said behind us. "Could you all please move? We're going to need to get through here." She sighed as she saw some of the pokemon wandering around outside. Some of them looked like they were from the Great Marsh, and were hurt.

"Oh yeah." Kyle sidestepped uneasily. I remained where I was until he tugged my sleeve.

"Joy, is there anyway we can do to help? I work at a pokemon day care and have some basic medical training."

Joy's eyes lit up. "That would be wonderful!" She looked to Kyle.

"Umm, I don't know how much help I'd be." Kyle hung his head. "But I'll help if you know anything I could do."

"You could head out to the Marsh, check and see how they're doing there. If there's anymore hurt pokemon, send them this way." Joy said quickly.

"Okay." He nodded. As he turned to leave, I grabbed his jacket sleeve making him turn back toward me.

"Be careful Kyle." I blushed and looked away.

"Hey. You know I'll be fine." He smiled, putting one hand on my shoulder before rushing out the doors.

"Thank you both for this." Joy smiled, looking toward me.

"No problem!" I nodded. "What can I do first?"

**x-x-x**

Kyle raced straight for the gates to the Great Marsh. A couple Machamp were clearing out some fallen trees from the roof. He walked through the doors, only to be greeted by one that tried to push him back out. "Hey Hey! Wait a second!" He shoved. "Hello! Who's controlling these things?"

"I am." A man not much taller than him came out from behind the Machamp. He had on a uniform for the Great Marsh Gatekeepers. "You're not allowed to come in here sir. You'll have to come back later."

"Now hold up!" Kyle weaved between the Machamp's arms. "Nurse Joy sent me to try and help out some of the pokemon here!"

"Oh!" The man pulled back his machamp. "A volunteer? Can't say we don't need some. Come on back."

The Machamp moved, letting Kyle walk through. He stood stunned at the entry for a minute, taking in the mess. The place was covered in mud. Which was normal, being a swamp, but it was all over everything, the people, the pokemon, the subway station. "Well… It's a good thing I hadn't stored gyarados yet." Kyle pulled the pokeball back and threw, releasing the monster. It sank into the mud, staring back with his cold eyes. "Gyarados. Could you spray off the station? Don't hydro pump or anything. Just enough to clean it off."

Gyarados followed obediently, spraying off the machinery like a power washer. A couple bouncy wooper played happily in the mist he made.

"Hmm… what else can I do?" Kyle turned and faced the other direction. Some Magicarp flopped helplessly on the muddy ground only feet away from the pond. "Wind must have knocked them out. Charmeleon! Go put them back!" Charmeleon hopped out of his pokeball and uneasily kicked the magicarp one by one into the pond. Kyle chuckled.

"Excuse me sir?" A mousy man said behind him.

"Yes?"

"You have lots of strong pokemon. Do you think they could help us over here?"

"Sure. What's up?" He followed the man to a cement dam. Bibarel and Bidoof were frantically building a dam made of sticks around the structure, which looked on its last legs. "Oh man. Is that thing going to collapse?" Sweat built on his brow. There's no way that stick dam would hold it up if it did.

"I believe so." The man shook nervously. "Something up there's breaking the dam. I was wondering if your pokemon could get up there and figure it out?"

"Yeah sure." Kyle said uneasily. "Arcanine! Absol! Come out!"

Arcanine and Absol stood loyally in front of their master.

"Could you two head up there and see what's causing problems? Whatever it is, get rid of it." The pokemon bounded away, making a competition of it and seeing who could make it to the top first. Absol being smaller, bounded up the Bidoof's dam, bouncing toward the top. Arcanine took the hillside. The much more lithe Absol was winning, until Arcanine used a bit of extreme speed. He pulled ahead and glowered down at Absol. Absol simply shrugged it off as it didn't phase her. The pair turned to face the dam, and their jaws dropped. Absol turned back toward Kyle and whined.

"Arf! Arr…" Arcanine's ears went down as he stared down toward Kyle.

"What's wrong?" The mousy man questioned. He shook violently.

"Umm…. You okay dude?" Kyle stared at him blankly.

"Y-yes. I just get nervous easily."

"Oh. Okay." Kyle shrugged, throwing out Skarmory in front of him. The man shrieked. Kyle hopped on Skarmory's back and took to the air, leaving the man scared silly. Skarmory soared high above the dam. "Now what's wrong Arcanine? If it's some boulder or tree or something just bust it up and… Oh." Kyle stared down at the Aggron flailing helplessly against the current. It was huge, and every time it struggled, it tore at a chuck of the dam. Skarmory flew in closer. "I see your point guys. Okay! Arcanine! Try scaring it out with a flamethrower!"

Arcanine got behind the beast and blew flames at its back. The steel type snarled and kicked violently. A chunk tore from the dam. Aggron only made it a few feet before the current pushed him right back.

"Okay. New plan." Kyle threw down a different pokeball. "Scizor! Go!"

The bright red bug pokemon he'd evolved back in Johto stood beside Absol, taking in the situation.

"Scizor! Absol! Use Razor Wind to keep some of that water at bay!"

Together, the two pokemon created a mighty whirlwind that blew back the water. It moved back and held stationary away from the Aggron. Aggron moved quickly along the bottom of the dam, and got its claws around the side, but it was too heavy to pull itself up and out of the deep dam. Arcanine without any commands burst into action and ran down the side of the dam, kicking extreme speed in, it hit Aggron dead on, giving it just enough push to pull itself out. The Aggron happily ran away into the forest.

"Aw darn. I could've caught that one." Kyle snapped his fingers in disappointment. "Great job though guys!" Kyle looked back to his exhausted Scisor and Absol, as they flopped to the ground, unable to keep up the razor wind. "Oh no! Arcanine!" Kyle screamed as he watched in horror as the water crashed into and submerged his faithful pokemon. "Arcanine!" He called again. Skarmory flew in closer. The cement crumbled into pieces. "No no no!" Kyle closed his eyes unable to watch as he imagined the Great Marsh overtook by water. He heard the water calm, and looked down with one eye to see the water stay in place. Bibarrel and Bidoof stood triumphantly on there now log supported dam. "No way. It actually held together?" Kyle sat stunned.

"Arf! Arf." A soaked Arcanine flopped to the top of the water, pulling himself out to the shore. Scizor and Absol ran to his side, and Skarmory flew down as well.

"Arcanine!" Kyle jumped off and ran to him. "Are you okay boy?" He pat the wet dogs nose.

"Arf…" Arcanine grinned before shaking off, soaking Kyle and all his pokemon.

"Sol!" Absol barked at him with a look of disapproval.

"Arcanine!" Kyle laughed. "Don't scare me like that boy!" He brushed his hand over Arcanine's head before recalling all his pokemon but Skarmory. He hopped on her back and took off down the cliffside. He flew by the mousy man who shrieked in fear. Kyle laughed as they headed for Gyarados. From the air, he could see he had all the trains sparkly clean. "Great job Gyarados." He recalled and him and headed to where he'd left Charmeleon. All the magicarp were in the pond with the exception of one, which was latched onto Charmeleon's foot.

"Mel-eon!" Charmeleon held his foot over the pond and shook wildly.

"Looks like you've got Shonna's problem!" Kyle laughed as he recalled Charmeleon. From the sky, he could see the whole Marsh. Things looked much better. There were a few people cleaning up brush from the storm, but everything looked good. Just as he was about to fly off, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Something large on the edge of the Marsh. There were a lot of people surrounding that end. More Machamp were carrying something off, with a white sheet over it. Whatever it was, it was huge and black. It took Kyle a while to notice the ears on it. A snorlax. Kyle directed Skarmory down to the scene. "What's going on?" He asked once they'd landed.

"A terrible thing." The worker shook his head in pity. "The storm must have scared that Snorlax into the Marsh. It tore down the fence getting in here, and once it did, well… I don't know what happened, but we found it face down in the mud this morning."

"You mean, it didn't make it?" Kyle's heart ached for it.

"No. We were too late to save it." The worker sighed.

"Hey Mac! Over here!" Another worker came running, carrying what looked like a muddy rock. "Look what we found! Do you think this is what she was protecting?"

"Hmm?" Mac took the thing and wiped away at the mud. A spotted pattern was revealed underneath it. "Good golly man! You're right! It's a pokemon egg!" He wiped away the excess mud. "But it's cold as could be. Being stuck in the cold mud probably did that to it. I hope it's not…" He gulped.

"Give it to me." Kyle held out his hands.

"Say what son?" Mac stared at him stunned.

"I'm headed back to the pokemon center anyway. Let me have it." Kyle took the egg without the man's approval.

"Oh, okay sure." Mac pulled back his empty arms. "Good luck with it. I hope it's not too late for it."

"Me too." Kyle yelled as he hopped back on Skarmory's back. They flew swiftly headed straight for the center. Kyle felt of the egg again. Cold as ice. "Not good." He grit his teeth. "But hopefully they can do something for you little guy. Just hang tight."

Skarmory landed and was recalled. Kyle rushed through the double doors holding tight to the egg. The place looked immaculate now and Nurse Joy sat patiently at her desk. "Looks like Shonna's been doing well on her end as well." Joy rushed to his side. "It's been sitting in cold mud for no telling how long." Kyle handed it to her, and she rushed into the back room wordlessly.

Kyle walked over to the self-healing machine and put his pokeballs on it. It beeped and lit up after healing his pokemon. Without anything better to do, Kyle went ahead and put Gyarados in storage via pc. He'd been doing that a lot lately. He had a lot of pokemon now, and switched them out from time to time. He paced the floor for a while, then went downstairs to throw their laundry in the dryer. When he climbed back up the stairs, Shonna was there to greet him. Her eyes were bright blue and her smile lit up the room.

"I'm so happy you're okay. I worried about you." She blushed slightly. He loved it when she blushed. It made her even more beautiful.

"I told you not to worry." He hugged her. "How about you? Are you okay?"

"I'm tired." She squirmed out of his arms. "You look stressed."

"I'm a bit worried about an egg I brought in earlier from the Marsh. It… lost its mother."

"Oh that's awful." She gasped. "If you want though, I could go back and check on it?"

"That'd be great." He smiled.

"Be right back then. Why don't you go get us a room set up?" She turned crimson red. "Umm… well. You know." She shuffled away nervously.

Kyle chuckled, wondering what was going through her head. He sure would like to know what she thought about. He'd kill to share what her and Lucario have, but who knows. Maybe with time they could.

Kyle signed up for the usual two-person room with bunk bed. He gathered his things together and the key, and found his way down the hallway to it.

**x-x-x**

I tried to stir the blush off my face. I hadn't even realized how these feelings we had for each other could change things. Or what they really meant. If I really was going to be his girlfriend… I blushed. _The whole thing would be so odd. Sleeping in the same room? I mean it was strange enough sleeping in the same room as your friend, who was a boy. Was he really so dense he didn't see how awkward that was? Yeah. Surely he would. He's probably already reserved separate rooms._ I grinned. _Nothing to worry about. _

I wandered down the hall aimlessly, almost forgetting what I came for. I stumbled into the back room. It was warm, from all the heating lamps on the pokemon eggs. Joy stood standing over one in particular.

"How's it doing?" I asked.

Joy turned toward me and sighed. "Honestly I don't know if it'll make it."

The dirty egg felt cold, even being under the emergency high-temperature heating lamp.

Joy frowned. "I'll come check on it through the night for any progress. You should go on to bed now. Thank you both for all your help."

"Really it's no trouble at all. We love helping pokemon." I yawned. "You get better little guy. Kyle's real worried about you." I put my hand on the egg. "We all are." It remained still and cold. I turned and walked back down the hall. _It could be fine right? I mean Riolu felt like that for a long time, I thought for a while he was a dead egg. Then after he fell in that hot spring, he popped out like a daisy. _I reassured myself as I checked the room boarding roster for the pokecenter. Of course, only one room under our name, as usual. I cringed as I walked back the hall and pulled open the door quietly, and just as quietly shut it.

He was already in the top bunk, fast asleep. Good, that makes things easy. I quietly pulled back the cover, sitting my bag in the floor, and slipped into the bottom bunk. I breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Shonna?" I heard him say. My throat quivered.

"Yeah?"

"How was the egg?"

"Oh. It was fine. It's doing a lot better." I lied.

"That's great! Can I go see it?"

"No no. Nurse Joy said she'll check up on it through the night. You don't need to worry about it. But you sure are." I added. "Is there something special about this egg for you?"

"I just feel bad for it." He admitted. "It lost its mom, and now we could lose it too. It's a sad story."

"All because of this one storm." I muttered. "It is sad."

"Sorry, I don't mean to bother you. Goodnight Shonna." I felt him roll over and remain still for a while. I laid on my back staring at the spring mattress above me.

_It's silly to think he'd try something. I mean, he hasn't all the rest of the time we've been together. Why would he now? Actually, he does seem sensitive to all this. He hasn't once teased me about us like he used to._ I rolled over as well. _Maybe this doesn't have to be all that different. Maybe we can still be dating, and best friends._ I smiled at that thought as I fell into a deep sleep.


	18. Munching at my Heartstrings!

**x-x-x**

Episode 17: Munching at My Heartstrings!

"Excuse me!" A knock on the door jostled me awake. "Wake up!" It was Nurse Joy's voice. I rose quickly, at attention. Almost like when you hear the trumpet in the mornings at summer camp. Kyle did the same. I rushed to the door, pulling it open. "You've got to come see. There's been some, development on the egg."

Kyle and I looked at each other briefly, then grabbed our bags and swiftly followed Joy down the hall. _Oh please let it be okay._ I prayed silently. _I told Kyle last night it was getting better. If we go in there and it's died, or got worse, I don't know what I'll do. _We turned the corner, reaching the egg holding room. A sigh of relief washed over me when I saw it was still there and intact. Joy rushed to one side of the pedestal it was on, and turned off the heating lamp. I searched her face for emotion. _Oh no. Why is she turning the lamp off?_

"Well Nurse Joy?" Kyle eagerly awaited her answer.

"I did some quick testing on it last night. It seems it's very far along in development. It should hatch very soon." She began listening with a stethoscope. I sighed in relief.

Worry washed away from his face as Kyle reached out slowly and touched the egg. "It's warm." He smiled.

Suddenly, the egg lurched. We jumped back as a crack appeared on the top of it. The crack formed and grew, extending down the side.

"Looks like it's hatching now!" Nurse Joy squealed. Me and Kyle stood speechless.

A light shone as the shell cracked and flaked off all around us. When the light died down, a plump, pudge of a pokemon sat sleepily.

"Laxxxx…" It yawned.

"It's a Muchlax!" I stared in awe. Kyle did as well. Nurse Joy stuck a stethoscope to his fat belly.

"And amazingly," She moved it up and around on his stomach. "He's just fine. Considering everything he went though, this is great!"

Kyle beamed. As the Munchlax rubbed its eyes, it peered at Kyle, and they stared at each other for quite a while.

"Munch?" The Munchlax sat up, surprising us all. "Munch!" It pounced for me, almost knocking me over.

"Whoa!" I grabbed him, and he climbed up, flopping over my shoulder. I stared at a shocked Kyle. "Umm…" I didn't know what to say, but I had a feeling Kyle wanted to be the one Munchlax responded to.

Kyle looked sad, then as he watched me, he began laughing. I heard a crunching behind my back, and looked over my shoulder to see him digging into my tote bag, eating away at my ration of poffins.

"Hey!" I yelled, pulling him away.

"Munch munch munch!" He had crumbs all over his mouth.

"What'd you do that for? My pokemon need to eat too you know." I scolded.

"Munch?" It squirmed wildly, jumping out of my arms, and into Kyle's.

"Well hi there!" Kyle scooped him up. "Did she scare you Munchlax?" He winked at me.

"Hmph." I searched for any poffins left in the box. _None. Looks like I'll need to make some more soon_. I closed my bag back up.

"Can we keep him?" Kyle stared back at me with the look of a child wanting a puppy.

"We already have Turtwig eating like crazy, do you really want to add him to your party?" I said this smiling, already knowing what he'd say.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to get more food for you little guy." Kyle pet Munchlax's head.

"Munch munch!" Munchlax's eyes lit up.

"I had a feeling you'd do this." I said lightly, as I handed him a new pokeball.

"As did I." Nurse Joy chimed.

Kyle chuckled, taking the ball and holding it in front of Munchlax. "What do you say? Want to come with me?"

"Munch!" Munchlax pushed his paw onto the pokeball, almost as if he was high fiving it. He sunk into the light and Kyle held his new pokemon proudly.

He chuckled to himself. "I got a munchlax."

I shook my head, but with a smile on my face. "And I gotta make us some new poffins."

Nurse Joy giggled. "You all will take great care of him. I'm sure of it." She hurried off with her team of Chansey behind her.

"Thanks for letting him stay with us. I know it'll make you work harder making those poffins." Kyle smiled at me.

"It's no big deal." I smiled back. "I'm glad everything worked out for the little guy. And you." I blushed. "I'm happy when you're happy." I yawned, and my eyes were heavy. It was around 3 in the morning.

"Hey. Come on. Let's go back to the room." He put his arm around my waist.

"Oh okay." I hesitatingly followed. His tone made me a little nervous. I shook it off and felt a bit at ease when we walked into the room. Kyle took the bags and set them in the floor before closing the door.

"Now, get into bed." He demanded.

"What?" My heart jumped.

"Go on." His tone lightened. "You need to get some sleep."

"Huh? Oh yeah." I flopped down into the bed obediently, tossing the covers over me. I yawned and turned toward the wall. I waited to hear Kyle climb up the ladder to his bunk. Instead, I felt something push underneath me.

"Hey!" I jerked away. "What are you doing?"

Kyle backed up. "Tucking you in? Can I?"

"Oh." I thought about this. _Kind of strange._ "Uh… okay."

He continued pushing the cover underneath me until I felt as snug as a metapod in its cocoon.

"Like it?" He asked once he was done.

"Actually," I squirmed a bit. "I love it." I was surprised, but it felt really nice. "Thanks Kyle." I yawned again. "I didn't know you were an expert tucker inner." _Tucker inner? Was that even a word?_

Kyle laughed. "Well thanks. I've had plenty of practice though."

"What do you mean by that?" I glared. "Oh wait. You had lots of baby brothers and sisters back in Viridian right?"

"Yep. And I had to take care of them all the time." He ruffled my hair a bit. "What were you thinking?" He laughed before climbing up the ladder to his bunk. "Sweet dreams Shonna!"

"Yeah yeah. Sweet dreams." I grumbled. I wanted to be annoyed at him seeing my jealous side, but as I curled up in my blanket cocoon, all I could do was smile.


	19. Crasher Awake!

**x-x-x**

Episode 18: Crasher Awake!

A loud crashing sound jostled me awake the next morning. I couldn't jump, being still stuck in my makeshift cocoon, but I looked up wearily. Kyle slid down the ladder and rushed to the window.

"Looks like it came from the gym. Part of the building collapsed."

"Rarrrrrrrrrrrr!" A man screamed.

This time I jumped. "What was that?"

"Looks like the gym leader's not too happy." Kyle sighed. "With all that going on, he might not be in the mood to battle you today."

I slid out of the bed, stretching my legs. "Well, maybe we should offer to help him. Maybe he'll battle me then?"

"Not a bad idea." Kyle nodded. He headed off for the bathroom to get ready.

I decided to not wait. The door was open, so I waltzed in and scooted beside him to brush my teeth too. He always takes forever, so I finished before him. Afterwards, I reached for my hairbrush and started brushing my long blonde hair. This is all I ever did to style it. I pretty much let it have its way. If it wanted to be straight, it'd be straight. If it wanted to curl, it could curl. If it wanted to be frizz city, well, that's okay too. Today, it'd be straight. I noticed Kyle staring at me.

"You're so beautiful." He sighed. "I'm so glad I can tell you that now."

I pretended to not relish it. "You could have told me before." I flicked my hair behind my shoulder confidently.

"Yeah," He smiled. "But you would have thought it strange if I told you everyday." He walked out without another word. After a long pause, I walked over to the mirror. _I'm not sure what he sees. Yes, my hair's pretty, but I'm a little overweight, and most people wouldn't find the glasses attractive. But, he has glasses too. And, he's not most people._

"What am I doing?" I turned away. "I've got to stop thinking about this stuff. I've got a gym battle to win."

**x-x-x**

When I got done getting ready, Kyle was already waiting in the hallway. He was holding both of our bags. I closed and locked the door behind me.

"You look silly." I grabbed back my purse. He laughed.

"You ready for the gym battle today? That is, if you get it."

"I'll get it." I skipped down the hall. "Come on!"

The gym was only a short walk from the center, and whenever we got close, it became obvious why the leader would be frustrated. The place was a wreck. Part of the roof had collapsed in, and all kinds of junk was in the pools on the inside. The storm must have brought it all in.

"ARRRRRRRGGGG!" A man screamed. We turned to see a fat man, dressed in nothing but some spandex pants and a strange mask.

"Ew. Who does he think he is?" I stuck out my tongue. "Some sort of superhero?"

"Are you checking him out?" Kyle gasped, acting hurt.

"No way!" I jumped back. "Besides, you know I go for the string beans." As I said this, I poked his firm stomach.

"Hmph." He laughed. "That's the gym leader. He calls himself Crasher Wake."

"Wow. He really does have a superhero complex." I stared jaw-dropped.

"Hey you kids!" He bellowed. "Don't just stand there and look at me. Get over here and help!"

"Told you you were." Kyle nudged.

"So not!" I retorted. We walked over to see what Wake wanted.

"Look I was just kidding." Wake laughed. "You don't have to help."

"Oh, but we want to!" I smiled. "Anything we can do?"

"Well, if that's the case, I'd be much obliged." Wake scratched the back of his head. "Uh well, I've got a construction team that's working on smelting down the steel, but they didn't have enough firepower last time, and it all fell apart this morning."

"We have the perfect team for that." Kyle said. I nodded as we released Rapidash and Arcanine.

"You know, I'm sure all of our pokemon can help Mr. Wake!" I beamed.

"Well, thank you. It would be nice to have more than water types to help." Wake agreed.

"Come on out then everyone." Kyle released all his pokemon, and each one looked ready to help.

"Yeah! Me too!" I reached for my pokeballs. "Oh." I stopped, letting one slide back into my bag. "Come out and help!" I tossed them into the air, and Luxio, Turtwig, and Staravia came out ready to go. I didn't let Lucario out, since he was still recovering.

"Alright. Arcanine and Rapidash, you all go help the crew melt steel. Scisor, you can chop wood, Absol… babysit Munchlax." Kyle laughed.

"Sol?" Absol seemed disappointed.

"Munch! Munch!"

I giggled. "What about gyarados?" I asked.

"Looks like they have enough of those." Kyle motioned over to the pair of large gyarados in the pools, cleaning off everything in the inside. "But, I actually put him back in the PC system this morning. I need more room in my party."

"Oh. Okay." I turned to my pokemon. "Staravia! You and Skarmory help the crew get stuff to the air. Luxio, you can help carry stuff from the ground." I turned to Turtwig. "Umm… I'll find something for you to do Turtwig, just hang on." I thought to myself. _What could he do? He was still so small._

As I contemplated on this, the others got to work. Everyone worked as a team, and were putting their best effort into it. They heaved around the heavy equipment and lumber, and made it look easy. Turtwig watched in awe, and ran to lift a heavy log. He pushed and pushed with all his might, but couldn't get it to budge.

"Twig." He sighed, looking very sad.

"Hmm," I thought. "Oh! I know! You can come with me and help make poffins Turtwig! I'm sure everyone's going to be hungry by the end of today." I smiled, scooping up the little guy in my arms.

"Twig!" Turtwig struggled out of my arms shaking his head no.

"Turtwig?" I looked down at him questionably.

"Hey you could take Munchlax! I'm sure he'd like that job." Kyle joked.

"Yeah right!" He'd eat them all!" I laughed. "At least I know Turtwig would save some."

Turtwig puffed up angrily. "Turrrr…." He huffed off into the gym.

"Gosh. I didn't mean it in a bad way Turtwig." I frowned.

"Don't worry about him." Kyle motioned me on. "I'll watch out for him. You go on."

"Thanks." I hugged him. "Um… see you later!" I ran off, back to the pokemon center. Luckily I remembered seeing a couple good poffin pots there. As I stepped into the center, I rolled up my sleeves. "Okay! Time to work my magic." A guy in the corner gave me an odd look. "Umm… yeah." I sulked back to the back, toward the kitchen. "Okay then. Poffin pot, check. Lots of berries to work with, check." I looked to my right to see Lucario standing next to me. "Lucario, check. Wait… what?" I turned to him. "What are you doing out of your pokeball?" He looked weak, and was still covered in bandages.

He chuckled. _"It's not very hard to get out of those things. Anyway, why wasn't I invited to the gym restoration party?"_

"You're still injured silly. Now get back in that pokeball." I turned my head acting angry as I mixed sugar, shortening and an egg into a bowl.

"_I could help. Maybe not much, but I could."_ Lucario smiled.

"Hmm…." I stared at him before smiling. "Okay." I reached for a lacy pink apron and tied it around his waist. "You be my helper then."

Lucario cringed. _"Ma! This is girly!"_ He lifted the apron in his paws with disgust.

I laughed like crazy. "You're adorable Lucario." I kept chuckling as I added the mixture to the pot of cream. I threw in a couple pecha berries for flavor. "There's a certain process to stirring a batch of poffins." I commented. "If you stir too hard it will all slosh out. But if you stir too little, it burns." I handed Lucario the spoon. "You try."

"_Me?"_ Lucario looked confused, and a little apprehensive as he stirred the mixture slowly.

"A bit faster." I said, holding his paws to guide him. "Do you remember when you used to help me as a Riolu?" I smiled.

"_Of course. I didn't forget a thing."_ He smiled back. After a few minutes, the poffin mix was ready. I poured it into a poffin pan with individualized molds, and put it in the oven for 20 minutes.

"Now you can say you know how to fix these." I winked.

"_I guess. So how come you can cook for us, but not any human food?" _Lucario threw the girly apron at me playfully.

"I'm not sure." I laughed. "I guess I'm just lucky Kyle can cook."

"_Yeah… I'm glad that's working out well for you."_ He smiled, with a hint of something. _Still a bit of jealousy?_

"_No. It's not that."_ Lucario smiled genuinely this time. _"Wow. I just realized next time I see Pichu… well, he's going to be very surprised."_

"I know! It's going to be a little more awkward to see you guys play together." I laughed. "Hey Lucario, could you watch this for me? I'm going to go make a call."

"_Sure." _He nodded.

"Thanks." I walked a short distance over to one of the video phones. Dialing the number, I awaited her happy face. Erica appeared on the screen, but she didn't seem quite so cheery.

"Hey." She smiled. "How are you?"

"Great! But how are you? You look beat." I noted.

"Eh, I'm okay. Just got in a fight with…. umm." She paused. "Okay so I started dating someone."

"What?" I sat jaw dropped. "When did this happen?"

"Not very long ago. We've been talking for a while, but about a month ago he asked me to be his girlfriend."

"Who?" And what a coincidence that we'd both started dating someone at around the same time. She didn't know that yet though.

"He's one of the gym leaders over there in Sinnoh. I met him on my first trip to Sinnoh last year. I asked him if I could come see him again, but he said now wasn't a good time. He doesn't get along well with his father. They've been fighting a lot lately." She paused again. "I hope it's not about me."

"I'm sure it's not." I tried to comfort her. "It'll probably blow over soon enough. So what's his name? Have I met him yet?" Erica opened her mouth to speak, but I felt a channel open in my mind, and couldn't hear what she had said.

"_Poffins are done!"_ Lucario yelled.

"Oh you know what Erica, hang on one sec. I'm making some poffins. Be right back." I grabbed some potholders and walked over to the oven, pulling the hot pan out and setting it on the stove. Lucario tried to reach for one. I gently smacked his paw. "It's still hot!" He grinned, and I ran back to the phone. Unfortunately, the screen was black. She'd hung up. "Gosh Erica. I hope everything goes alright." I wanted to call her back, but I was afraid she just wanted some space. _Besides what advice could I give? My relationship hadn't hit any bumps so far. Of course, it'd only been a relationship for a few days._ I blushed. _I hope we never fight like that._

**x-x-x**

Me and Lucario walked back to the gym, giant box of poffins in hand. "Now remember, I don't want you working. Just hand these out to the pokemon. That's your job. And make sure Munchlax doesn't take them all, and…" I stopped dead in my tracks. Kyle was lifting some kind of equipment, shirt off and sweaty. "Uhh…"

Lucario rolled his eyes at the unwelcome thoughts.

Shaking it off, I approached him. "What are you doing Kyle?"

"Wake agreed to pay me if I help, so I thought I'd seize the opportunity." He replied.

"I see." I pretended to be uninterested. "How's Turtwig?"

Kyle frowned. "He's been sitting over there all day. He's tried to help every now and then, but it's all too big of work for him. Good news is the roof's done."

I looked up. Sure enough, it was. Most of the pokemon were resting. Lucario began passing out poffins. I noticed Turtwig turn it down. Something was really off with him to turn down a poffin. I walked up behind him, picking him up. "It's okay Turtwig. Let's go inside and see if there's anything we can do." We walked inside, and the place looked really nice. It was a large pool, which was now drained empty other than a collection of leaves at the bottom.

Crasher Wake came up behind me. "We drained it, but there's still all those leaves down there. They're supposed to be shipping us a vacuum for it, but it might be a couple days before it gets here."

"That's too bad." _Really too bad._ I thought. _I wanted to fight the gym soon._

"Yeah." Wake sighed.

Turtwig looked up at our sad faces, and jumped out of my arms, rushing down the stairway to the bottom of the pool.

"Turtwig!" I yelled. My voice echoed throughout the gym. Turtwig kept running and opened his mouth wide. He began pouring leaves into his mouth and eating at lightening fast speed. I stared in awe.

"Wow." Kyle stood in the doorway with Munchlax. Munchlax watched Turtwig strangely before sticking out his tongue.

"Laxxxxx…" It gave a look of disgust before stuffing a poffin down his throat.

Kyle laughed. "Munchlax says that's a lot of salad!"

Crasher Wake laughed as well. "That sure is a little herbivore you have down there."

"Yeah but…" I worried about him. _Would he be okay eating all that? _I wanted to stop him, but he looked so happy to be helping, that I just couldn't. He stopped about halfway through and looked a bit sick, but he put on a determined face and a white light flashed around him. I gasped as he grew to twice, three times, no even 4 or 5 times his size. The tiny twig on his head migrated to his back, blooming into big bushes. I'm sure now, he had a bigger stomach, and began chomping down on the leaves even faster than before. Within minutes, the entire pool was cleared. "Grotle. Wow" I stood in awe.

"That was amazing!" Wake commented. "What a ferocious appetite. He's a better eater than me." He laughed.

"Grotle!" Grotle smiled up at me from the bottom of the pool before flopping down, very full.

"Great job Grotle!" I yelled. "You're awesome! You deserve a rest." I pulled out his pokeball and recalled him.

"Thank you both so much for all your help." Wake smiled, then turned to me. "I'll pay you as well."

"Oh well…" I stammered. "That's nice, but all I really want is a gym battle."

"Huh?" Wake looked confused.

"She wants one of these." Kyle flipped open his trainer case to reveal a shiny Fen Badge.

"Oh! I thought I remembered you from somewhere." He turned back to me. "If that's all, sure. I'll get my gyarados to fill the pool and have it ready for tomorrow. On one condition!"

"Yes?"

"I want you to use that Grotle of yours in the battle. I want to fight it."

"Oh." I thought about it. _Water type against grass. Should be fine._ "Okay." I agreed.

"Excellent. Meet me here tomorrow then." Wake smiled before disappearing into one of the back rooms of the gym.

We recalled all of our pokemon after a hard day, and had them healed at the pokemon center. We were both exhausted, and after Kyle tucked me in again, I went straight to sleep that night.


	20. Interfering Interviews!

**x-x-x**

Episode 19: Interfering Interviews!

"Alright!" I held a fist up proudly. I had spent the morning doing a little extra training with Grotle, and I was ready for my battle. Kyle and I checked out of the pokecenter, and headed off for the gym. "I'm going to win this one! I just know it."

"You have been on a winning streak." Kyle commented.

"Yep! And today's no exception." I marched along, until suddenly Kyle stopped. "Hey what's up?"

He pointed, looking around as if he needed to hide.

I looked over, and saw our old annoyance, Jane the reporter, and her faithful cameraman Charlie.

"Must… hide." Kyle took off for the bushes, but I grabbed him before he could.

"Oh no you don't mister." I pulled him back. "You've missed enough of my gym battles as is. You're watching this one."

"Please don't!" He struggled. "I hate being on camera."

"Deal with it." I continued dragging him, within plain sight of Jane, and through the gym doors.

**x-x-x**

"So apparently, this hurricane caused major damage to Pastoria City in particular. Luckily most of the city was evacuated, and we have reports that there were very few injuries. Unfortunately some of the pokemon in the great marsh were hurt, but a rescue team was able to help out a majority of them. As far as the buildings damaged, the Pastoria City Gym took the brunt of the damage, but as you can see, it's been repaired thanks to an unidentified young couple and their pokemon. This is Jane with Jubilife News, now back to you Bob." Jane took a deep breath. "How boring. Another storm story. I'm telling you Charlie, I'm never going to hit the big time with dinky stories like this."

"Umm," Charlie pointed. "Isn't that the guy you were following, being drug by that girl with the long blonde hair into the gym?

"Eh?" Jane turned. "Oh! Kyle! It's the pokemon master! Come on Charlie, let's go after them!"

**x-x-x**

I pushed Kyle's shoulders down so he sat on the bench. "Wish me luck."

"Me too." I heard him grumble, as Jane came rushing into the stadium.

"There he is!" Jane sat right beside Kyle, shoving the microphone in his face. "What do you say Kyle? Will I get that interview today?" She turned back to her cameraman. "Charlie, are you getting this?"

"Uh, why don't you just film her gym battle?" Kyle laughed nervously. "I'm sure that's much more interesting than me talking."

Jane and Charlie turned toward me for a moment.

"Wake! I'm ready whenever you are!" I yelled to him from across the pool.

"If you're sure!" He laughed. "I'll use three pokemon. You can use three, but remember you promised me a battle with that Grotle. I can't switch out."

"Fine by me." I smiled, confident in our training.

Jane stared for a bit longer. "Nope! Boring." She turned back to Kyle. "So how long have you been traveling in Sinnoh?"

Kyle sulked as he begrudgedly answered her questions.

"Go Quagsire!" Wake released his first pokemon, and it stared back at me blankly.

I thought to myself. _Quagsire. The water fish pokemon. Being part ground type, it would be futile to use Luxio at this point. Rapidash would be no good, and Lucario's out. Leaving Grotle and Staravia. I don't quite want to send out Grotle yet._ "Okay! Go Staravia!" My bird pokemon floated effortlessly above the pool.

Quagsire just sat swimming at the surface of the water. An open target. "Aerial Ace!" I called, and Staravia dove in, striking Quagsire before it could react.

"Mud Shot!" Wake called out. I smiled as Staravia easily flew out of reach, and the shots of mud struck the ceiling. Ground type moves would never work on Staravia.

"Staravia, Whirlwind, then Aerial Ace again!" Staravia obediently whipped up a twister in the pool, bringing Quagsire up to her level. He spun erratically in the air.

"Mud Shot again!" Wake cried. Quagsire as it was spinning, let off a flurry of mud, spraying it in clumps all over the ceiling, into the pool, and almost hitting me. I jumped to avoid it. Staravia was still able to dodge these, and still struck him with an Aerial Ace attack. Quagsire flopped into the pool with the same goofy look on his face. _What was Wake doing? I couldn't understand it. He must have known ground type moves have no effect on flying types, so why was he doing this?_

"Let's see if she figures this out." Kyle held his hand to his chin.

"What Kyle?" Jane questioned. "What great insight do you have to give us?"

Kyle ignored her and kept watching.

"Staravia! Finish this with Wing Attack!" Staravia dove in, and Quagsire dove into the water. "Hmm?"

"Mud Bomb!" Wake yelled. And the water suddenly became completely brown. Then, it all became clear. My mind. Not the water. It became clear to me that all along, he was using Quagsire to make things all that much harder for me. I could no longer see where Quagsire was swimming, and neither could Staravia. Mud dripped down from the ceiling, hitting Staravia in clumps. Her wings were caked in it.

"Use Yawn Quagsire!" Wake called. Quagsire appeared behind Staravia, jumping out of the water and yawning a loud yawn. Staravia looked very groggy, and I knew she probably only had one move left before falling asleep.

"Wing Attack." I chose, and she ran toward Quagsire, striking him with her hardened wings. Quagsire fell backwards, knocked out. Staravia, soon after, flopped into the water, fast asleep. I recalled her. "Well at least she's relatively clean now."

"Return Quagsire!" Wake grinned, throwing out his next pokeball. "And Go Floatzel!" A Floatzel disappeared under the muddy water.

I sighed. For the first time in this battle, I really thought I could lose. My confidence was dwindling. He had the advantage now. I wished that I had Vaporeon back right about now. "Go Grotle!" Grotle stood on the one slippery pillar of the pool.

"Floatzel, Sonic Boom." With that, Floatzel popped over Grotle, dropping down waves of air onto him. Grotle without command, withdrew into his shell, and was only moved a bit by the attack. Floatzel landed close by, a bit bewildered. "Don't get too close Floatzel!" Wake called, but I snuck my attack in anyway.

"Razor Leaf!" I smiled as Grotle let out a flurry of sharp leaves, from within his shell. Surprised, Floatzel took the attack head on. The floatzel had apparently not seen a lot of turtle pokemon. Wake needed to socialize him more.

"Floatzel! Water Gun!" Floatzel used a water jet from his mouth, to push back the shell. Grotle popped out of it to hold his ground. He was close to the edge of the pillar. _Was that Wake's plan? To knock him off? If so, I had a surprise for him._

"Use Bite!" I yelled. Wake had bitten off more than he could chew. I watched as Grotle happily drank up all the water, and headed slowly for Floatzel. Unable to see, Floatzel was bit hard on the arm before he stopped the water gun.

"Zelll!" It yelped.

"No more fooling around!" Wake yelled. "Floatzel! Knock it out of here with Aqua Jet!" Floatzel took to the water and disappeared for a minute.

"Hold your ground Grotle." I whispered, as I watched him embed claws into the rock pillar. Floatzel flew out of the pool, engulfed in a missile of water, and headed straight for Grotle, the two clashed, and the force behind the aqua jet attack slowly pushed Grotle back. I hated that sound of claws scraping rock like that. Eventually, he couldn't hold on anymore, and sunk into the pool.

"Well, he's done for." Jane laughed. "She's not near as good as you Kyle! Please tell me what you would do in this situation!"

"Don't count Grotle out just yet." Kyle glared. "And don't count Shonna out either. She's great at battling. She's the only person to have beat me in a pokemon battle you know."

"_She_ beat _you_?" Jane stared back in confusion. Charlie panned the camera back and forth to them, then back to the battle.

"You know what to do Grotle!" I yelled happily. My new move I'd taught him was perfect for this. Even underwater, he should be able to do it. I thought back to when I bought the HM a month ago, in preparation for Turtwig evolving soon.

Bubbles from the dirty water floated up. First only a few, then more and more. Floatzel stood on the edge of the pillar, looking over at them. Suddenly, Grotle leaped out of the water, tackling right into Floatzel.

"Flo! Zelll!" Floatzel was knocked high into the air, and when he fell back into the water, he floated to the surface, knocked out.

"But how?" Wake gasped. Grotle shook his shrubbery out a bit as he walked across the rock pillar.

"Rock Climb!" Kyle blurted out. "It's a HM she bought recently. It sure came in handy!" He laughed.

Jane looked somewhat stunned. "Oh wow."

I just nodded, smile on my face. Maybe, I stood a chance now.

Wake swiftly released quite possibly the biggest gyarados I've ever seen into the pool. Yeah, maybe not.

"Good grief." I sighed. "Grotle! Try Razor Leaf!" Leaves swirled out of Grotle, flying toward and bouncing off the gyarados's strong scales. "Well that didn't work."

"Gyarados! Ice Fang!" Wake grinned. Grotle was a sitting duck now, and Gyarados clamped down hard with the super effective attack, freezing him into nothing but a large ice cube almost instantly. I was forced to recall him.

Last chance. I thought to myself. Luxio would have to bring this behemoth down. I threw out his pokeball.

"Lux! Lux!" Luxio growled.

Gyarados roared back.

"Gyarados! Dragon Rage!" The monster spat blue flames all over the place. Luxio dove into the water to hide from them. I searched for him, but the stuff was too thick to see. I prayed he could hear me.

"Luxio! Try Spark!" I screamed. The water electrified, sending shocks throughout. Gyarados winced, but it didn't seem to affect him much. _Why not?_ I considered this. The water, and a lot of the rest of the gym, was covered in mud. _Clever Wake. That must be grounding out the electric attacks, lessening them._ Luxio crawled back up onto the center rock, soaking wet. Unless we amped up the electricity, there'd be no stopping him. "Luxio Charge up!" Luxio growled a low growl as it stored up electricity. Sensing, what was going on, Wake reacted quickly.

"Thrash Gyarados!" He cried out. Gyarados grew angry, his rage bubbling, and threw himself all over the pool. He eventually struck the pillar, snapping it in half. Luxio had stop charging, and swam aimlessly in the pool.

"Spark! Again!" Luxio let out a furious amount of electricity, and I could tell it hurt Gyarados, but it still wasn't enough. I think the only way I was going to be able to truly hurt it, would be to administer it directly to Gyarados, and not traveling through muddy water.

"Graaar!" Gyarados growled.

"End this with Ice Fang Gyarados!" Wake smiled confidently. I didn't really know what to do now, and for a minute, I was ready to give up. Gyarados dove into the water, bringing Luxio in his grasp on the way back up. He had him by the back, and ice traveled from his fangs into Luxio. It would be no time before he was frozen solid. But then Luxio did something that surprised me. As a last ditch effort, he latched onto Gyarados's face, biting down hard. Whatever discharge was left in him, surged through his fangs, shocking Gyarados intensely. For a second, neither pokemon let go, until finally Gyarados succumbed to it, fainting, and dropping Luxio into the pool.

Luxio looked a bit embarrassed as his frozen rear end floated in the pool like an iceberg, but he was still able to battle, so I was declared the winner. A smile streaked across my face as Wake recalled Gyarados. "That was a close one!" I wiped off my forehead.

"It certainly was!" Wake bellowed, as he crossed the side of the gym to greet me. "You know, I would have given this to you anyway for helping me, and the rest of the city, but you earned it!" He pulled a Fen Badge from some pocket on his tight spandex pants and handed it to me. I beamed as I placed it in my trainer's case.

"Luxxxx!" Luxio whined. I giggled, grabbing him from the pools edge and scraping the ice off his tail.

I hugged the cold wet pokemon tight to me. "Thanks so much Luxio! You did great out there! And it looks like you learned Thunder Fang!"

"Lux!" Luxio licked my cheek lovingly.

I smiled, recalling him and placing the pokeball back in my purse with the others. "You all did so wonderful."

"Shonna!" Kyle ran up and hugged me. "Great job!" I blushed, squirming out of his embrace.

Jane and Charlie approached us. "So, I must admit…" Jane looked hesitant. "I think I was wrong about you umm… Shonna was it? I think we can expect good things from you. That battle kept me on the edge of my seat." Suddenly a sly smile crossed her face. "I'm sure they'll air this when they see it." She whispered quietly. "So tell me. I always see you two together. What's your relationship?"

Kyle wrapped an arm around me. "She's my girlfriend!" He blushed, and I soon followed suit, remaining shy and quiet.

"Hmm… Young love between a pokemon master and a trainer rising in the ranks." She put extra emphasis and drama into her voice as she turned to the camera. "Now, let's get a few words from Crasher Wake!" She turned to him. "How was it for you?"

"What? Love?" Wake stood bewildered. "I don't think you should really be asking about my love life."

"I meant the battle!" Jane puffed up in anger, before sighing. "Let's go back to Pokemon Master Kyle!" By the time Jane and her camera had turned back to us, we were running out the door.


	21. Footprints and Feelings!

**x-x-x**

Episode 20: Footprints and Feelings!

We were hand in hand now, running from the city. Kyle held tight, pulling me along. "I think we're safe now!" I gasped out.

"We're never safe from her." Kyle laughed. "Just a bit further okay?" He kept running. Something about all this reminded me of the old days. Running away from Officer Jenny in the Kanto region. I smiled thinking of those memories. I got wrapped up in them. We passed right out of the city gates, and into a new beach area. Finally, we slowed to a walk, but Kyle still held my hand tight. He smiled at me. "We should be safe now, I guess."

"You guess?" I chuckled. I felt like I was in a fairy tale. Walking hand in hand along the beach with my… boyfriend. I blushed. The beaches, and the seas that scraped against them were glistening. The sun was out, and it was surprisingly warm. A rare thing for Sinnoh. Kyle looked happy, with a sly smile on his face.

"I have a surprise for you." He whispered.

"What? What kind of surprise?"

"It's a surprise." He winked. "I'm not going to tell you."

"I don't like surprises." I smiled, putting my other hand on his arm, clinging to it. It didn't work to get anything out of him. He just kept smiling. "You won't tell me anything?"

"Excuse me!" A large man approached us. I thought at first Crasher Wake had come back, but this man was dressed relatively normal, in a short sleeve button up shirt, and shorts. "Could you two just stop for a minute?" Dumbfounded, we stopped. The man ran behind us and investigated our tracks in the sand. "Oh yes. Interesting."

"Is this your surprise?" I whispered to Kyle.

"Not at all." He laughed. "I have no idea who this guy is."

The large man paused. "Yes! You two are definitely dating. You two care for each other very much."

I looked down at me still clinging to Kyle's arm. "No way! How could you tell?" I said with sarcasm.

"I'm Dr. Footstep! I'm crazy about footprints! I can tell all kinds of things from them." He beamed.

"One problem." Kyle pointed at the sandy tracks. "We're wearing shoes. You can't see our feet." I nodded in agreement.

"Well…" Dr. Footstep sighed. "I haven't quite mastered that. But! I am great at telling the feelings of pokemon. Let your pokemon walk in front of me, and I'm sure I can give you some insight on them!"

"Thanks, but I'm sure we know our pokemon well enough." Kyle turned away. "C'mon Shonna. It's probably some scam anyway."

I started to walk away, but then I looked back. "Wait. I'll try it." I tossed out Lucario's pokeball. He stood in front of me arms crossed, looking better than yesterday. I leaned in to whisper to Kyle. "I know Lucario, so we'll find out if this guy's for real this way." I turned back to Lucario. "Lucario, walk a little ways out please."

"_Why?"_ He raised an eyebrow inquisitively. I sent him the message about this man through my mind, before I even spoke it. _"Oh. Okay."_ Lucario turned, walking a few steps across the sand.

"Oh!" Dr. Footstep ran up the scene. He stared at the tracks for a long time. "My my. It's been a long time since I've seen a pokemon so connected to their trainer. This pokemon has a bit of a jealous streak, but it's only because he lives to protect you. He thinks of you as much more than his trainer. That much is obvious."

"Hmm…" I smiled. "So you're the real deal huh?" All that he said was true, but I wanted to test him further. "Try these out." I sent the rest of my pokemon out, and asked them to walk across the sand.

"Oh!" Dr. Footstep dashed back and forth happily to each set of tracks. "This one here." He pointed at Rapidash's. "Is the strongest of the bunch, simply because he's been trained for quite a long time. He loves all the great things you've taught him. And this one!" He pointed at Luxio's. "He's quite the feisty one. Kind of a joker, kind of a rebel, but he enjoys being in your party, and wants to continue to impress you."

"He does." I thought back to his sudden thunder fang attack.

"This one." He stared at Grotle's footprints. "Is hungry. He wants you to know this."

I laughed. "Sounds like him."

"And this one." He moved onto Staravia's. "Wow. Something happened in her past, to where she feels eternal gratitude to you. She's going to spend the rest of her days trying to repay you."

I walked up to Staravia, placing my hand on her head. "You don't have to repay me." I ruffled her feathers. "It pleases me enough to know you're all better now."

"Star! Star!" Staravia chirped.

"I know." I hugged her. "I love you too." As all my pokemon approached me, I hugged them all tightly. "I love all of you."

"Hmph." Kyle smiled. "Fine, I'll give it a shot." Kyle released all his pokemon. Starting with Arcanine.

"This should be interesting." I whispered. I had seen Kyle's pokemon in battle a couple times, but I really didn't know much about their personalities.

Arcanine trotted across the sands. "Arf." He barked happily.

Dr. Footstep chuckled at the sight of Arcanine's tracks. "I always find amusing to see how very loyal dog pokemon are to their trainers. I must say, yours is the strongest I've seen yet."

Kyle grinned. I'm sure he already knew this.

"This one," Dr. Footstep paused, examining scisor's. "He's surprisingly difficult to read. I would say he likes to think of himself as a real workhorse in your party. He's very proud and strong."

Rapidash whinnied. I pet him. "No he's not talking about you." I laughed.

Charmeleon snorted as he trudged across the sand.

"Same with this one, though I get the feeling it wasn't always that way." Dr. Footstep looked up to Kyle. "You have very tough pokemon."

Kyle nodded, and Munchlax ran out from behind his legs.

"MunchMunchMunchMunchMunch!" Munchlax ran in circles around the sand. He took off for the ocean, but Absol jumped in front of him, staring him down. "Laxxxx…" Munchlax sighed before prancing back to Kyle.

"He's hungry, like the other one." The man laughed.

"I'll have to make more poffins sometime." I called out. Grotle and Munchlax perked up at the sound of the word. I winked at Lucario, who merely rolled his eyes. He had a smile on his face the whole time though.

"Oh this a bit concerning." Dr. Footstep stood analyzing Absol's footprints. "Honestly this one's a bit annoyed as of late."

Kyle frowned, looking skeptical. He looked down at Absol, who looked away.

"I believe she's tired of watching the little one." Dr. Footstep looked to Absol for confirmation. "She feels more like a babysitter than a battler."

"Sol." Absol barked quietly.

"Well, that's no big deal." Kyle smirked. "I'll switch up the pokemon to keep an eye on Munchlax, kay Absol?" He leaned down to her level.

After a minute, Absol smiled, leaning her head on Kyle's shoulder. He held her.

"Lastly," Dr. Footsteps examined Skarmory. "Something is troubling this one. It's not anything of your doing. That's all I can really tell."

Kyle looked at Skarmory curiously. "Okay…I'll have to work on figuring that one out."

"See! You needed my help after all." Dr. Footstep bellowed. "My house is just over that hill. If you would like, you can stay the night."

"It is a long way to the next pokemon center." I opened my mouth to speak, but Kyle interrupted.

"That won't be necessary." He said bluntly. "Thanks anyway." He recalled all but Arcanine. I recalled all of mine. "Let's go Shonna. We want to head out before it gets too dark. He hopped onto Arcanine, reaching out for my hand. He pulled me up onto him. I looked back at Dr. Footstep who simply shrugged, walking back toward his house. "Now close your eyes."

"Hmm?" I did as I was told.

"Keep them closed. Take a nap if you want. It'll be a while."

"Really?" I left my eyes closed, laying on Kyle's shoulder. I felt Arcanine begin walking, but I couldn't sleep. What was this big surprise?

Hours must have went by. I begged Kyle to let me open my eyes, but he insisted it would be just a bit longer. I sighed. It was getting cold again.

"Okay. Go ahead and open them." He whispered, sliding off Arcanine.

It took a while for my eyes to adjust. It was night. A gorgeous tall building sat in front of the ocean. I'd only seen pictures and postcards of it, but it was the famous Lake Valor Resort Hotel. All the lights were lit up, and it was truly beautiful. I smiled as Kyle caught me, and lowered me off Arcanine. "It's so pretty! I've never actually seen it."

Kyle recalled Arcanine without a word. He took my hand and walked me into the lobby. I gazed at all the wonderful decorations in the room. It was even better than the pictures. We stopped at the counter, and an older gentleman greeted us.

"Welcome," He spoke with a fancy accent and bowed. "Checking in?"

"Indeed." Kyle smiled proudly.

I sulked. _Kyle must not know you can't just waltz into a place like this. You have to call weeks, sometimes even months in advance to get a room here._ I didn't have the heart have to tell him.

"Name?" The gentleman reached for the computer keyboard.

"Gray." He replied confidently.

"Are you kidding me?" I said excitedly under my breath. I grinned widely.

"Ah! The presidential suite." The gentleman nodded, reaching for the key. "I hope you have a wonderful stay, Mr. Gray." He handed him the key, and turned to me and bowed. "And you as well ma'am."

"Yes. Thank you." I stuttered. Kyle hustled off to the elevator. "Hey wait for me!" I almost tripped running through the door, but he caught me of course. The door closed behind us, and we were headed to the top floor. "How?" I questioned. "How did you ever arrange all this? How did you afford it?"

"Well, I forgot about it until recently, but I actually saved all my money from the league competitions in the bank. Seems it's been drawing interest." He smiled. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tight. I saw him blush.

"I thought it'd be nice, to rest a while, just have some fun you know? Take a break from all that hard work and gym battles." He rambled. The door beeped, sliding open. Before me stood a small hallway, with only one door. Kyle took the card key and slid it through the slider. The door opened, and a bright, beautiful room appeared.

I gasped. It wasn't even a room. It was like a small house. There was a kitchen and dining area, a huge living area and bathroom, and a bedroom ten times bigger than the ones we see at the pokemon centers. There were two large beds in it, as well as an assortment of different types of beds for pokemon.

Kyle closed the door behind us. "I thought it'd be nice if the pokemon could hang outside their pokeballs for a while. They could use a vacation just as much as us."

"That's a great idea." I released all my pokemon. Kyle did as well. They all ran around checking out the room, finding spots in it they liked. Some took the pokemon beds, some took the couches or floor. Either way, they all looked very comfortable in the room. "Is that why you got the presidential suite? So they'd have plenty of room?"

Kyle nodded. "That and, isn't this the kind of place a three time pokemon master should stay in? I am famous after all." He grinned a million dollar smile.

"Yeah right." I punched him on the arm playfully, then took off running for bedroom, flopping down on the fluffy bed. "Wow, this feels so much better than those pokemon center bunk beds."

"I know. Where do they get those things anyway, do the local prisons donate them?" Kyle joked.

"Ah well. It's still better than sleeping bags outside." I said, still grateful for a roof over our heads.

"True." Kyle sat on the bed adjacent to mine. Munchlax crawled up beside him and was asleep in seconds. "I'm glad I got a girl who can appreciate things like that."

I smiled. I did appreciate the little things in life, but I had to admit, this little luxurious vacation of ours was certainly nice.

**x-x-x**

The next morning, I woke up bright and early, before any of the pokemon or Kyle, and snuck out past the balcony. The sun was just starting to come up. I quietly tiptoed into the kitchen. I was still in my flannel pajamas. I brought out my bag, and everything I'd need. I started working feverishly to get a huge batch of poffins ready for everyone. I stirred and poured, and baked. While I was working, I discovered a small radio in the corner. I turned it down low and found a station to suit my tastes. I was picky when it came to music. By far my favorite, was jazz. I rolled my eyes as I remembered the days Stephen would plead with me to turn the radio at the day care center to some hip-hop rap junk.

All that was forgotten quickly when I began humming a bit of the saxophone tune. I smiled as I pulled out the four dozen poffins from the double ovens. They were perfect. I placed them on the counter, threw down the oven mitts, and turned back to close the oven doors. As soon as I did, I felt strong arms wrap around my shoulders, making me jump a little.

"Good morning beautiful." I heard him whisper. "You know, this was supposed to be a break, so you didn't have to work. Then what to I do, but find you here in the kitchen cooking."

I blushed, feeling embarrassed, but unable to squirm out of his embrace. "How, did you know I was in here?"

"Munchlax could smell them as soon as you started working. It was a pain getting him to stay in the room."

"I bet so." I giggled. "I made extras for him."

"What are you listening to?" He asked in a tone I was not used to. People usually ask me that sounding disgusted or stunned. I wasn't sure I wanted to answer. Kyle always played hard rock from the radio in his bike.

"It's a jazzy song." I admitted.

"So this is what you like?" He leaned in more, his face in my long blonde hair. "I like it."

I felt lightheaded. Being alone with him like this… did this to me.

"Do you dance?" He suddenly spun me around to look at him. Much more confrontational, and embarrassing, as I released he was only wearing his jeans.

"No. Not at all." I laughed shyly. "I'm clumsy, remember?"

Before I knew it, he had my hands in his, and was gliding me across the kitchen. He stayed on time with the music, leading me in a waltz-like dance. _Was he just naturally this good? Yet another reason I thought he was perfect. _With him leading me so well, I was able to look up from my feet for a moment and see his loving face looking back at me.

The next song that came on was considerably slower. Almost instinctively, I wrapped my arms around Kyle's neck, and he had his resting on my hips. Cloud nine doesn't even begin to describe where I was at now. I gently laid my head on his shoulder, feeling him wrap his arms around me again. "I love you." I whispered.

We stopped dancing as he held me closer to him. "I love you too Shonna."

I closed my eyes, my heart pounding. I'd seen enough romance movies to know what was coming next. I felt his hand brush against my cheek, and warm, soft lips against mine. They were moist, and a chill ran down my spine. Our glasses gently touched, as our lips slowly parted, and I pulled away from him. I opened my eyes to look at him. He was blushing, and had a big smile on his face. If he was blushing, I knew I was probably as red as a beet.

"I umm…" I didn't know what to say.

"Laxxx!" A bang at the kitchen door scared me. It knocked again, and again.

"What the…" Kyle let go of me to reach for the door, but before he could, the door slammed off its hinges and onto the floor. Munchlax stood proudly behind the door before lunging for the poffins at the counter.

"Nooooo!" I sprung into action, making a flying leap for the poffin pans. I grabbed them, slinging them into boxes. All of this I did just out of Munchlax's reach. I put one carton of poffins in a safe deposit box of the room, and put it in a high up cabinet. The other, I held triumphantly above me. "Munchlax! I'll give you one, and even an extra if you behave well until I give the rest of the pokemon one okay?"

"Lax!" Munchlax puffed up in irritation. I noticed in the now open doorway, the other pokemon were standing by anxiously. Poor grotle had drool running out his mouth. Lucario stood in the back shrugging.

"_Sorry Ma,"_ He sighed. _"I tried to keep them back."_

"It's alright." I sighed as well, looking to Kyle. "Guess I'll go feed the pokemon now?"

Kyle looked glum as well, as he pulled out a small tool kit, screwdriver in hand. "Yeah, and I guess I'll be fixing a door."

I chuckled, walking around to each pokemon, distributing a bowl. I poured pokemon kibble out in heaps in each one, then handed them a poffin. Which, let's face it, was what they all wanted. Munchlax followed impatiently behind me. Grotle, Luxio, Staravia, Lucario, Rapidash, Skarmory, Scizor, Arcanine, Charmeleon and Absol all happily fed. I returned Rapidash afterwards with the promise of letting him out to stretch more later. Unfortunatly he had so many flames coming off of him, that he was catching things on fire just walking around the room.

Munchlax stood tapping his foot behind me. I sat down a bowl of poke-food, and he tilted the bowl up inhaling it in one gulp. I had two poffins left in the box, so I handed them to him. He greedily grabbed at them, munching down in true munchlax fashion. I walked away slowly, before he could demand anymore. I headed back to see what Kyle was up to.

I stopped. _We… we kissed!_ I hadn't had time to take it all in. _I guess I should have seen this coming, but so soon?_ I blushed. _I had to admit though, I loved it. He was a good kisser. He didn't just peck his lips against mine, like I'd seen some couples do, but he all out kissed me. It was short, but definitely sweet. _I smiled. _Now if only I knew what to do from here. Is there something I should say? I wanted to run up and hug him. But would that be too childish? I worry too much._

"Bing Bong." A bell rang. I looked to the door. _Who?_

"I hope you don't mind!" Kyle yelled from the kitchen. "I ordered room service."


	22. Rest and Munchlaxation!

**A/N: Heads up, this chapter is told from the perspective of the pokemon, so it's all translated and stuff. Enjoy.**

**x-x-x**

Episode 21: Rest and Munchlaxation!

Munchlax's stomach growled again and again. "I'm hungry!" He complained. But the girl who fed him just raced to the door instead. "Hey! Wait up!" He watched in awe as a man came into the room with a pretty cart with a fancy cloth over it, and silver domes sitting on top. The girl, (what was her name again? Shoe not?) lifted one of the domes with a look of disbelief.

"Banana Pancakes? Kyle! How did you know?" She yelled. "My favorite!" She whispered now with a giddy look on her face.

The smell hit Munchlax hard. Like a ton of bricks. He didn't stop to think about it as he leaped for the cart.

"Oh no you don't." Kyle scooped him up. "That's our breakfast Munchlax, and if you try to take it again, I'm going to return you to your pokeball. Now be good okay?" He set him back down gently and walked over to the cart, grabbing up a couple trays and taking them to a table on the room's balcony. The blonde happily followed with her trays of food. Munchlax stared back at the cart. Cart brings food, cart must come from a place with food. The wheels in his brain started turning. Maybe no one would notice if he… He slipped up the cloth over the cart and hid in the under carriage portion of it. No one had seen him. He was sure of it. He heard someone step forward.

"Thank you very much." The girls voice said. "Here's a tip, and I'll get the door for you." Munchlax felt the cart roll away, and heard the door snap shut. The cart rolled and rolled, until it got to another door. He cautiously lifted up the cloth. He was in some kind of room with buttons beside the door.

"Lax!" He said softly, before covering his mouth. The room jerked downward, and it scared him. He remained quiet.

"What was that?" A man's voice said. "Hmm… these elevators are getting old and making weird noises."

A dinging sound alerted just before the doors swung open and a bright room appeared. Munchlax lifted the cloth, to see pots and pans hung everywhere, and people in white coats chopping, boiling, and baking foods of all types. Strings off salami hung in racks, noodles were being pulled out of a machine, and he spied an open store room in the corner with nothing but food. Munchlax smiled in glee, and knew he'd died and gone to heaven.

**x-x-x**

Lucario slowly savored his poffin. He watched Shonna and Kyle from the couch. They were sitting on the balcony, eating breakfast and laughing about something. He refused to listen in on the conversation. He had been tuning her out all day. She was just a mush of gushy love junk ever since this morning. He gulped down the last of his poffin. He was happy for her, but it was still gross.

His ears perked. He's been so disinterested in using aura, that he hadn't even been listening to the pokemon, until he realized one aura signal was farther away than it should be. Let's see. He channeled in, listening to the kid banter about food. Why was he so far away? Ah. There we go. A clear picture of a well lit room, with food all around, then the connection was lost.

Lucario deliberately kept Shonna out of his thoughts as he made his way to Arcanine who was curled up on the floor in the corner. "Wake up. We have a problem."

Arcanine sat up yawning. "What kind of problem?"

"The kid, he escaped. I'm not able to sense his aura right now, but he's definitely not in this room."

"Well that's not good." Arcanine quickly ran around to gather the others. "Everyone! We need to find Munchlax. He's somehow escaped the room."

Luxio and Grotle finished down their poffins and walked to the group. Staravia and Skarmory fluttered down to the floor. Scisor and Charmeleon crossed their arms as they walked into the living room. The only one missing was Absol.

"Absol?" Arcanine walked in to the bedroom, where Absol was laying in one of the beds wide awake. "We could use your help in here."

"Forget it. I watch the kid too much anyway. If he wanted out let him go." She turned her head to him.

"Oh c'mon Absol. He's just a kid. It's not like he realizes what he's doing." Arcanine walked back into the living room. "Besides, we all know you care about the little guy."

"Please." Absol curled up in the bed. "As if."

"Alright." Arcanine greeted the group. "What are we going to do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Scizor spoke up. "Let's just tell Kyle and Shonna. They'll take care of it." Charmeleon nodded in agreement, and some of the other pokemon looked relieved to the idea of going back to resting.

"We can't do that." Lucario said sternly. "Look at them. I happen to know if we interrupt them again, they're not going to be too happy."

"But wouldn't it be better than if they find out we knew and just let him roam around?" Luxio spoke.

"We can't let the poor thing get lost." Skarmory said sadly. "He's so young."

"You're so nice Skarmory." Staravia smiled. "Yes. I think we should help him."

"It's just where you two are girls." Charmeleon smirked. "Motherly instinct."

"Hey leave her alone." Staravia glared. "She just knows what it's like to be lost right? You got stuck in those caves?"

"Yeah." Skarmory hung her head. "Right."

"Besides, that motherly instinct obviously doesn't apply to Absol." Scisor sneered.

"Eh. Leave her alone." Aracanine frowned. "She's just tired."

"So, what now?" Grotle asked. "If we're not going to tell Shonna and Kyle, what can we do?"

Arcanine laughed. "We're going to go find him, that's what."

"All of us?" Charmeleon sighed.

"Just how are we going to do that?" Scizor asked. "If we all leave, won't they notice?" He pointed a claw to the humans on the balcony.

"Doubt it." Lucario rolled his eyes. "They're bound to me making googly eyes at each other for at least another hour or so."

"In any case," Staravia smiled. "Absol will be here to distract them if they catch on."

Luxio laughed nervously. "Well, the longer we stick around here, the longer Munchlax causes trouble." He reached up with his tail, quietly opening the door.

Arcanine chuckled. "Let's go gang. Try to keep quiet on the way out."

Everyone walked out and closed the door behind them. Arcanine and Lucario led the way. Arcanine stopped short of the elevator.

"Yeah." Scizor spoke with an annoyed voice. "We're not all fitting in there."

"Got that right. " Charmeleon agreed.

Lucario pointed to the stairs. "Surely you all haven't got that lazy."

"Well actually…" Grotle complained.

"Oh, come on!" Luxio bounded down the stairs. The rest followed, with Grotle slowly trotting behind.

"This should be easy!" Staravia cooed. "We can just get Lucario to sense his aura, right?" Lucario gave a look that said not.

"Wait." Scizor glared. "You telling me you read our minds like you do for your trainer?"

"To a degree." Lucario smiled. "Actually pokemon are easier to understand than humans. I am one after all. Some are easier than others though."

"So Lucario, where exactly should we stop?" Arcanine turned to him.

"Well, I saw what looked like a galley, but after that, all he's thinking of is food. I can't get a good hold of his aura right now." Lucario nodded.

"I didn't know Munchlax was into art!" Luxio said dumbfounded.

"Not a gallery! A galley you idiot!" Lucario yelled.

Luxio jumped back. "Oh right. That's like a kitchen right?"

"Well that's not too bad." Arcanine smiled as he pushed open the door to the next floor down. He took a deep sniff, inhaling all the scents of the floor. "Nope, no food here."

"Okay." Skarmory began fluttering down to the next floor. "Let's try the next one."

Everyone followed. Grotle slowly clambered behind, already out of breath. "Anyone know how many floors are in this place?"

"Did you see the view from the top floor balcony?" Charmeleon laughed. "Must be hundreds."

Grotles jaw dropped as Arcanine carefully sniffed out the next floor.

**x-x-x**

Munchlax flopped out from under the cart in a trance like state. So much food. So little time! He walked straight to a rack of salami, slurping it down like a ramen noodle. The rack clanged against the floor, and Munchlax ran behind a counter to hide.

"What was that?" A chef turned to upright the rack. "What the? Where'd the salami go?" He muled over this, leaving a giant plate of omelets and hash browns unattended. Munchlax climbed up the counter, tipping the plate up, and leaving nothing but crumbs behind. He quickly snuck back down as the chef turned back to his work. "Gah! Melanie! Get out here! I think we have some rattata in the kitchen or something."

"What is it Sam?" A female chef walked out of the storeroom, leaving the door wide open. Munchlax bolted for the room.

"Look!" Sam pointed to the plate of food. "Something ate room 332's breakfast! And that!" He pointed to the empty salami rack. "What's going on here?"

"I assure you Sam, there's no rattata in here. This kitchen prides itself on quality control. Is it possible you misplaced it?"

"No. It's not possible." Sam argued. Just then, the storeroom door slammed shut.

"What was that?" Melanie ran to the door, trying to push it open. "It won't budge!"

"Whatever's in there's been stealing the food!" Sam bellowed. "I'm going to make a call to the maintenance men. We're getting that thing out of there!"

"This new move Kyle taught me is great!" Munchlax tackled the large crate of bananas up against the door, keeping it shut. He heard some banging against the door, but it remained closed. Munchlax stood back confidently, before turning to see what surrounded him. On every side, on every wall and shelf, were boxes of food of every kind. Drool hung from Munchlax's mouth, before he leaped into the first box he could get to.

**x-x-x**

Arcanine lazily propped open another door with his head. Everyone was tired. Exhausted really. They all sulked behind him. It must have been over 50 floors they'd went down. He sighed, taking a deep sniff. His ears perked, and his eyes brightened. "Hey! This is it guys! We've found it!"

"Are you sure?" Charmeleon questioned. "You said that about 15 floors back when it just was a fat old lady who'd ordered a whole breakfast buffet."

"But it was pretty funny when we busted the door down on her!" Staravia flew happily, trying to remain cheery.

Luxio laughed. "We scared her to death!"

"I'm serious!" Arcanine barked. "This is it!" He hustled down the hallway, following the scent. Everyone smiled, following behind with a bit more stamina. He was getting closer. He could smell it.

"You're right!" Lucario beamed as he ran down the hall beside him. "I can sense his aura again. He's very close."

Arcanine nodded as he stopped at a door. He couldn't read the sign on the door, but he knew it must be the kitchen, he stood back, then threw himself at the door. He popped open, and a small dark room awaited.

"This isn't it." Lucario peered into the room. "It's a janitor's closet."

"But this has to be it!" Arcanine squeezed his way through the small door putting his nose to the ground. He stopped and hovered it over a vent in the floor. "Oh. It must be just below us."

"Ugh! Not more stairs!" Grotle flopped to the ground with a thud. "I can't take anymore! Just go without me."

"Maybe we don't have to." Scizor smiled diabolically. "Who here's small enough to fit down this vent?"

Everyone turned to look at Luxio. "Huh? Who me?" Luxio stepped back.

"Sorry kid but you're the only one small enough for the job." Arcanine said as he pawed open the vent.

"Jeez guys." Luxio frowned as he pushed himself down into the vent. He squeezed down and over, until he could see the other end of the vent. He latched onto it with his teeth and bit off the bars. Down below, he spied a snorlax, no wait, it was only a very fat munchlax, sitting in the middle of the floor, gnawling on a banana. "Munchlax! C'mon! We gotta get out of here!" Munchlax turned, but ignored him. A banging sound rattled the door, voices were behind it, and Luxio could see the doorknob shaking violently. "Munchlax hurry!" Luxio wrapped his paw around an apple Munchlax had missed that was hiding on the top shelf. "Come and get it!"

"Munch?" Munchlax's eye's brightened. "Gimme!" He leaped after Luxio, who turned tail and shimmied up the vent. Munchlax struggled up the shaft, getting stuck halfway up.

"C'mon Munchlax." Luxio laughed holding the apple in his tail, just inches away from his face.

"Gimme gimme!" Munchlax squirmed and squirmed.

"Whoa!" Luxio leaped out of the vent, The other pokemon stood back in the closet surprised.

"Lax!" Munchlax tackled up and into the room.

"Wow. Kid got fat." Charmeleon stood wide-eyed. Skarmory nudged him in disapproval. "What? He did!"

"Gimme the apple!" Munchlax pushed his paws into fists.

"Oh boy." Luxio leaped over the others and ran down the hall full speed. Munchlax gave chase.

**x-x-x**

Chefs Sam and Melanie watched anxiously as the maintenance men pushed and shoved at the door. There must have been at least a dozen of them. They pushed the door open with a final slam. The room was absolutely barren.

Sam and Melanie rushed in. "Oh no!" Sam screamed. "That thing ate the entire storeroom."

"Look there!" Melanie pointed. "The vent's knocked out. It must have escaped through there!"

"Don't worry about it." The oldest man of the janitors stepped forward with a large broom in hand. "We'll find it. No rattata will get by us. We'll go upstairs, find the problem and eliminate it." The men behind him got their brooms and mops in hand. "Let's go men!" The men raced out of the kitchen, down the hall, and headed for the stairwell.

"What do you think they meant by eliminate?" Melanie frowned. Sam didn't answer because he was so wrapped up in whining over the lost food.

**x-x-x**

Munchlax continued to chase after Luxio tirelessly. Luxio however, was becoming quite tired. He ran around the hall starting to trip over himself.

"Munchlax! Stop it!" Arcanine yelled. All the pokemon were yelling and trying to stop him, but they were running around too fast. And with everyone so tired…

"Why won't he listen to any of us?" Staravia flew around the hall trying to stop them.

"I don't know, but he's really getting me mad." Steam poured from Charmeleon's nostrils.

Grotle collapsed. "I give up. We're never going to catch him."

"Munchlax please stop!" Luxio pleaded as he tripped over himself and flew into the floor. "Ouch." Luxio stared back as Munchlax ran for him madly.

"Stop this nonsense right now!" Absol appeared behind the group, staring angrily. Munchlax stopped in mid stride.

Munchlax turned obediently. "But I don't wanna!"

"Let's go back to the room, then you can have the apple. You've misbehaved enough for today." Absol glared sternly at him.

Munchlax paused, before slowly walking to Absol, his head hung.

Luxio stood jaw dropped. "Easy as that huh?"

"Well… however it happened, we got him back, so let's get out of here." Lucario turned to make his way down the hall. He stopped, realizing something was coming. "Humans. Quite a few."

"What? Really?" Arcanine looked ahead. Sure enough, about a dozen men with brooms and mops ran from the stairs into the hall.

"Look at all the pokemon!" One of the men yelled. "You think all of them ate all the food?"

"Either way," The oldest said. "We need to make sure they don't escape!" He held up his broom defiantly. "Charge!"

"What do we do now?" Scizor readied himself.

Lucario clinched his teeth together. The elevator was right beside him. He slammed a fist against the button. "Everyone that can, get on the elevator now!" The door swun open, and all but Lucario and Arcanine squeezed their way on. "Get to the top floor quick! We'll meet you there." He yelled as the door closed tightly.

"Darn sir! Most of them got away! There's no telling what floor they went to." One of the men said angrily.

"Not to worry. These two were stupid enough to stay." The old man smiled.

"What are we going to do?" Arcanine barked. "We can't hurt the humans!"

"No," Lucario formed aura in his paws to the shape of a bone club. "But we can disarm them."

Arcanine smiled as he bared his teeth to the men. A few of them ran back down the stairs at the sight. "Arrrrrr!" He growled as he bit one of the men's brooms into nothing but splinters. All but the old man fled after that.

"You think that's going to scare me?" The old janitor laughed. My broom's expensive. It's reinforced on the inside with steel!"

"Funny. So am I." Lucario smiled at his pun, before swinging the bone straight into the man's broom, slinging it into the ceiling, where it shot through the floor above, and became lodged there.

"Wha….. AGHHHHHH!" The old geezer took off running down the stairs even faster than his friends had.

"You know, you didn't have to be so dramatic. It's not like the guy could understand what you were saying." Arcanine rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Sorry." Lucario zapped away the bone club and laughed as well. "Guess I take it after Ma."

Arcanine laughed again as the pair made their way up the stairs.

**x-x-x**

Everyone regrouped on the top floor. Munchlax sulked as he waddled behind, until Absol slipped him the apple Luxio had been holding.

"Thank you Auntie Sol!" He cried, grabbing hold of Absol in a big hug. Absol squirmed out of the embrace.

"Aww." Skarmory cawed. "How sweet. You really do care about him."

"Hmph." Absol walked ahead to distance herself. "Yeah right."

Munchlax munched happily with his apple, right into the room door.

"Um, one question." Grotle asked. "How do we go about getting inside unnoticed? Especially without a key?"

"I believe I may be able to help with that." Luxio waved a card key in his paw. "Theiving is my specialty afterall." He grinned, as he used his tail to swipe it across the slot. The door popped open.

"Alright. Everyone be really quiet when we go in." Arcanine whispered. Everyone began to tiptoe inside, sneaking through the foyer area, when suddenly, Shonna and Kyle appeared at the other end.

"And just where have you all been?" Shonna questioned, arms crossed and tapping her foot. She was still in her flannel pajamas which made her look much less intimidating then Kyle, who had a similar pose. Lucario started to let her in on his thoughts to tell her, but she held her hand up. "Nevermind. I think I already know." She pointed at Munchlax, who had the apple chewed down to the core.

"Munchlax!" Kyle struggled to pick him up. "You're fat as a hog! Have you been eating all the food in this place or something?"

Arcanine nodded seriously. Kyle's face grew livid.

"Oh." Shonna stood shocked. "Sounds like you guys might have caused some trouble." She looked to Kyle. "We should probably return them. What if the hotel staff recognizes them? Then we'll have to pay all those charges."

"Eh, we'll let them have tonight. We're checking out in the morning anyway. But…" He put a finger to Munchlax's nose. "No more going outside the room okay?" He looked to the other pokemon. "That goes for the rest of you as well."

They all smiled innocently before returning to their favorite spots to rest.


	23. Men are from Mars!

**x-x-x**

Episode 22: Men are from Mars!

I crawled out of bed that night, bringing out a blanket to wrap around me. I pushed open the sliding glass door to the balcony, and stared out into the ocean. It was freezing. I held the blanket tighter around me.

"You like sneaking up on me don't you?" I turned to Kyle, who I'd heard coming this time.

"Apparently I'm not doing as good of a job at it." He wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just getting a breath of fresh air." I placed a hand on his. "This has been really fun you know. I liked breakfast. And whenever the pokemon got back we played games with them. That was fun."

"I'm glad I could make you happy." He whispered.

"And well…" I blushed. "The kiss. That was nice too." I was embarrassed to admit it, but I added in anyway, "It was my first kiss."

"Me too." He turned me around, and hugged me closer. "You know if you liked it that much, maybe we could try again?"

"I umm…" I tensed up as he closed his eyes and came toward me. I puckered up, trying to be ready. I could feel his warm breath hit my lips, but just before mine met his, a loud noise fired, and something shook the whole building. "Wah!" I gripped onto Kyle, tripping into him. He caught me, and once the room stopped shaking, looked around to see if there was any damage.

"What was that?" He asked. "Earthquake?"

"I don't think so." I stepped into the room. Some of the pokemon had been jostled awake, and I rushed to comfort them. They were all so tired that within a few minutes they quickly fell back asleep. I heard the tv flip on, with the volume low. Kyle stood there, remote in hand.

_["This is Jubilife TV's Sheena Stone here bring you breaking news. We just received word from authorities that the earthquake-like tremors were actually caused by some sort of explosion at Lake Valor. Our correspondents are working on getting a chopper out there as soon as possible, but until then, I'm Sheena Stone. Back to you Jane."_

"_Yes! As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Jane sat in her chair looking antsy. "While visiting the destruction of Pastoria City after the hurricane, I came across the famously reclusive pokemon master, Kyle Gray! It was difficult, but I eventually talked him into an interview as his accompanying trainer fought in a gym battle. Here's the footage!"]_

"Hey look! We're on TV!" I plopped down on the couch. Kyle sat beside me and wrapped one arm around my shoulder.

"Yeah we are." His eyes looked heavy.

I watched in awe, seeing my gym battle from a different perspective. I had to admit, I looked pretty cool! Being on tv like this was so awesome! I didn't even care that the only reason they showed it was because they were getting commentary from Kyle. I smiled, when suddenly Kyle's head gently hit my shoulder. He was fast asleep.

_["So tell me. I always see you two together. What's your relationship?" Jane said on the screen._

_Kyle wrapped an arm around me. "She's my girlfriend!" He blushed, I was also._

"_Hmm… Young love between a pokemon master and a trainer rising in the ranks." Jane turned to the camera, then to Wake. "Now, let's get a few words from Crasher Wake!"]_

I flipped off the television and tossed the remote to the floor. _Now what? He looks so comfortable. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to…_ I placed my head on his, trying to stay awake myself.

**x-x-x**

We were checking out the next morning. We'd returned all our pokemon, and were headed out for the day. I heard the old gent at the counter take the key, and mumble about Kyle's transaction being approved, but I couldn't help but stand in a daze thinking about earlier.

_I'd woken up that morning to Lucario nudging me gently. He walked off after that, leaving me to find I was laying on the couch with Kyle, my head on his chest, curled up right against him. He had one arm protectively over me. I sat up, and Kyle's eyes fluttered open. He yawned, then looked somewhat embarrassed of the situation as well._

"_Well well. Good morning angel." He ran his fingers through my hair, kissing me on the forehead._

"_I umm…" I'm not sure how we'd managed to get that way in our sleep, but we had. "Angel?"_

_He nodded. "With the sun coming in and shining on your pretty blonde hair, you look just like an angel."_

I blushed. I was sort of glad we were getting out of this hotel. It made it too easy to get close to him. Closer than I'd expected. But now that we finally were, I missed it. I really was head over heels for this man. I smiled, and shook myself back to the present. Kyle was staring at me, looking ready to go. He reached out his hand to me.

"Uh, just give me a minute. I need to go to the bathroom." I said embarrassed.

He chuckled. "Okay, I'll wait for you outside." He walked out to explore the beachfront. I took my leave and headed for the stalls.

**x-x-x**

Mars adjusted a strap carefully as she deviously plotted her trick. She, and the other galactic commanders had finished their jobs at the three Sinnoh lakes, and now she had a little downtime. Of course, she'd be using it for Team Galactic still. No rest for the wicked after all. She grinned. The annoying pokemon trainers were unstoppable together. Their pokemon were just too powerful. But she'd tracked them to this hotel, and she knew, if there was someway she could break them up, it'd be easy to take back the Lusterous Orb. And if she were able to do that… instant promotion for her.

Only problem, was it was cold. Entirely too cold to be wearing the skimpy red bikini she was shivering in.

"Just a few more minutes." She shook all over. "They'll be out any minute. Achoo!" She sneezed. "Ah! Perfect! Here comes the guy! And he's alone right now. Even better!" She put on her act, running helplessly toward him. "Help! Please help!"

**x-x-x**

Kyle had just wanted to check out the ocean again. It looked beautiful that morning, until the red headed, practically naked woman ran in front of his face. Kyle stuck out his tongue. Why on earth was she wearing something like that? It was freezing out. Wait, was she running toward him?

"Please help me!" She screamed as she ran up to him. She looked familiar, but he refused to look at her hard enough to recognize who she was.

"No… whatever you're selling, I don't want it." He turned away from her. Not only did she look like a ho, she had some kind of nasty smelling perfume on.

"Selling?" The red head said in a lower voice. She didn't get it obviously. "No, please help me! My pokemon is in the ocean. She can't swim!"

Kyle turned reluctantly back toward the ocean. There was something large and purple bobbling in it. He really didn't want to help this woman, but for a pokemon, he had too. He took one quick look around. No lifeguards on duty, guess he had no choice. He threw down his bag and jacket, and dove into the waves. He grabbed onto the purple furry thing and headed back to shore. It wasn't squirming, or moving at all. He hoped it wasn't already dead. He walked onto the sands, and set down the pokemon. Once he wiped his glasses off, it didn't take him long to figure out it wasn't a pokemon at all. It was just a weighted Purugly doll.

"What are you trying to pull here lady?" Kyle glared back at the woman angrily before she literally tackled him, knocking him on his back.

"Oh thank you so much!" She smiled evilly. "You're my hero!" She struggled to keep him pinned down as he struggled to get away from her.

"Unless you're looking to get hurt, get off of me!" He yelled angrily.

"Not just yet cutie." The woman motioned her head to the beach line. Kyle's eyes widened as he saw Shonna standing a distance away. "Gotta seal the deal." She leaned in quickly to try and kiss him. There was no way he was letting that happen. Kyle shoved her away forcefully. "Ack!" She hit the sand hard.

"Shonna!" Kyle yelled. She looked distraught. Women can be so dramatic. He'd seen so many cheesy movies where the woman sees something like this, and cries and takes off running. "It's not what it looks like!" He said, before realizing that was exactly what the man would say in those movies. He slapped himself in the forehead for that one.

"Hehe!" Mars giggled, tackling Kyle again. "I think it's exactly what it looks like."

"Get off of me!" Kyle reached around to shove her again, but before he could, he saw her fly backwards. Shonna held up a foot. Had she kicked her?

"Ow! You awful girl! What'd you do that for?" The red head held her hands to her gut.

"Nobody's falling for your act Mars. Take your show on the road and get out of here." Shonna stared angrily at her. Mars? Of course. Kyle thought. Purugly doll, red hair, nasty outfit, had to be her.

"So, you figured me out." Mars said sadistically. "No matter. It'll plant the idea in your mind. Probably eventually tear you two apart."

"You're only fooling yourself." Kyle stood beside Shonna.

"Exactly." Shonna turned to him. "I know Kyle well enough to know he'd never go for a girl like you. He's not like most guys. And I'm not like most girls."

"Pfft." Mars smirked as she stood up. "How so?"

"How so?" Shonna smiled. "I don't just slap and pull hair like most girls do in a fight. I punch and kick." She balled her hands into a fist.

"Whatever!" Mars turned to walk away. "I don't have the time to fight over that one. Besides, he's dumb to miss out on that opportunity." She waved her hand as she walked away. "See ya."

"Let's hope not." Kyle frowned, before turning back to Shonna. "Thanks for believing me. I know it must have looked like a bad situation."

"Sometimes things like that happen." She laughed. "But I trust you Kyle."

He smiled. "I'd hug you but I'm all wet."

"I noticed." She picked up his jacket and bag. "Let's stop back at the hotel and you can change."

**x-x-x**

It took a little while to get Kyle's clothes dry again. _What a pain that Mars was. Just where did she get off? Trying to steal away my boyfriend? I don't think so. She's going to have to do a lot more than dress up in a couple strings and cloth, to break us apart._ I watched the clothes tumble in the dryer. I know we haven't been dating long, but I feel pretty confident about us.

"Thanks for doing this!" Kyle ran up behind me in his other outfit. It was very similar. Black long-sleeve shirt, with a green polo overtop, and dark jeans. He held his black jacket over his arm. "But we should get going."

"But your clothes need a bit longer." I reached for a quarter to push into the slot on the machine. Before I could, he grabbed my wrist. I looked up at him questionably. He smiled, before looking at the time on my poke'tch.

"Oh man. We gotta go." He let me go, turned off the dryer and grabbed the damp clothes. "It's good. Let's get going. I have another surprise for you."

"Another?" I laughed.

"Mmhmm." He nodded as he tucked the clothes into a bag, and stuck it in his backpack.

"Fine, let's go then." I smiled as we walked hand in hand out to the streets.

**x-x-x**

Mars was back in her tight bodysuit, feeling much warmer. She was hanging out on the Galactic chopper for the rest of the day. She crossed her legs, sitting in the seat casually. Digging out her phone, she dialed the number carefully. Those stupid kids were going to pay for humiliating her. She knew Cyrus would have her head if he knew she was doing this, but it was something to consider.

"Hello." The man's voice answered on the other end.

Mars grinned. "This is one of the galactic commanders. We don't really like cavorting with you rocket guys, but I wanted to see if you were interested in doing a bit of work for us."

"I'm not with team rocket anymore." The man said simply. "Sorry to disappoint you." He sounded as though he were about to hang up.

"Wait!" Mars shouted. "I really think you should consider this. All I want, is for you to break up this couple. They're causing problems for us. You're welcome to steal the girl's pokemon, or her, whatever. I don't care, as long as you can get them apart."

"Is that all that's in it for me?" The man said angrily. "Stealing some guy's girl away?"

"Not quite. The guy is Kyle Gray. I believe you know him?"

There was a long pause before he answered. "When did you want to do this thing?"

Mars smiled. "It may not come to that. In fact, I'm hoping we can defeat them without your help, but if it does, you're in right?"

"Gladly." The man's voice sounded angered as he hung up abruptly.

"Sheesh." Mars flipped her phone closed. "That guy was creepy. Appears my homework was right about him. He really hates Kyle." She flipped through the papers and articles she'd gathered on the pokemon master. "Well, that's all the better for me."

**x-x-x**

"No! No you didn't!" I grinned. That Kyle Gray! In addition to the famous Lake Valor Resort, he had reservations for lunch at the beautiful Valor Lakefront Restaurant. Kyle held the door open for me. This place was supposed to have the best food ever! I walked in, looking all around. Beautiful art decorated the walls, and a man stood to greet us.

"Welcome." The man stared at us strangely. I hoped there was no dress code here. "Name?"

"Gray." Kyle stepped forward.

"Mmm." The man crossed his name off. "Right this way sir."

We followed him into a brightly lit room. There were roses sitting in vases on every white linen lined table. We sat across from each other.

"What would you like to drink?"

"Water please." I said shyly.

"Diet." Kyle said, looking at me. I'll never understand why a skinny guy like him drinks diet soda.

"I'll be right back." The man took off, giving me a chance to look around. It was surprisingly not very crowded today. There were only 4 other couples in the dining room. That's not usual, from what I've heard.

The waiter came back with our drinks, and me and Kyle both orders steaks. It'd been so long since I'd had steak. When it was brought out, it was cooked perfectly. Burnt to a crisp. I winced when I looked at Kyle's, which still had some kind of pink juice coming out of it.

"Don't give that face." He cut a bite on his fork and held it in front of me. "Wanna try? It's really good!"

"No! Ew." I whined. "That's nasty."

"Well." He stuck the bite in his mouth and chewed. "I suppose every couple has their differences."

I drowned my cut up steak in steak sauce, before realizing I was hogging the bottle. "Oh! I'm sorry, do you want some?"

"Nope." Kyle munched on a fry. "Hate that stuff."

I smiled. It was true. We were pretty different in some regards. We finished off our meals, and I couldn't resist getting a piece of chocolate mousse cake. I wiped away some chocolate from my face. "Thank you for this Kyle. I'm ready whenever you are."

Kyle came around to pull out my chair, like a real gentleman. I giggled. We'd already placed the money for the check, plus tip on the table, so we were headed out the door.

"Hold on please! Just one second you two!" The waiter chased after us. "The owners would like to have a word with you."

"Okay…" Kyle crossed his arms. I wasn't sure what this was about either. Soon enough, a large man and woman came around the corner.

"Hello there. I'm Mr. Ingle, and this is my wife. We're the owners here." The man addressed.

"What can we help you with?" Kyle asked.

"Well you see, it's kind of tradition here that couples double battle each other after their meal. I noticed you didn't." Mrs. Ingle pointed out.

I looked around the room. The couples had already paired off, leaving no one behind for us to fight, but me and Kyle both knew they all would be pushovers to us.

"Tell you what." Mr. Ingle had a twinkle in his eye as he picked up our money for the check. "Battle us, and if you win you can have your money back."

"Really honey?" Mrs. Ingle looked excited.

"Sure. We haven't had a battle ourselves in quite some time." Mr. Ingle turned to us. "Would you oblige us?"

"Sounds fine to me." Kyle smiled before looking back to me. "We haven't double battled in a while."

"I know." I said nervously. _I hope I don't screw this up._

We walked outside the restaurant for the battle. The rules were one pokemon for each of us, so two against two. Mr. Ingle threw out a tauros, and a miltank for Mrs. Ingle. I felt like I was going to lose my lunch. _Steak. Ick_. I hope that wasn't their plot all along.

Kyle just laughed before throwing out Scizor. I reluctantly tossed out Lucario. He looked back at me inquisitively. I shrugged the queasy feeling off. _I've got to impress Kyle._

"Horn attack Tauros!"

"Metal Claw Scizor!"

I watched in awe as the bull ran straight for Scizor, but Scizor's pincers gleamed with a metallic shine, as he grabbed a hold of Tauros's horns.

"Hmph. We can defend well too." I smiled, turning to Lucario. He nodded, knowing what I wanted.

"Miltank! Rollout!" Mrs. Ingle stood confidently. Miltank rolled right into Lucario, but he outstretched his arms and held it away from him.

Kyle watched me cautiously. "Scizor, Strength." In an amazing show of strength, Scizor lifted up the bull by the horns, before slamming it back down to the ground. Tauros squirmed out of Scizor's grip, and backed away.

"Hmm." I nodded. Miltank rolled away from Lucario, but came back going even faster. Lucario tried to block, but he got knocked back.

"Be careful Shonna." Kyle spoke. "Rollout continues to get stronger each time it's successful."

Miltank rolled back, then amped up the speed. She was headed for Lucario again!

_Lucario! Bone Rush!_ I yelled in my head.

Aura shaped into a long bone formed in Lucario's paws. He held tight to it, as Miltank approached. With a big swing, he struck Miltank with it as though she were just a big baseball.

"Mil!" Miltank unrolled herself, holding her head.

"Milk drink." Mrs. Ingle said calmly. Seemingly out of nowhere, Miltank pulled out a bottle of milk and drank it, restoring her health.

"Great." I said dejectedly. _Oh! I have an idea! Lucario! Dark pulse!_

"_You sure you want me to do that?"_ Lucario said through my thoughts.

_Of course!_ I continued using telepathy.

"They're getting ready to use a combo attack Shonna. How do you want to counter?" Kyle asked.

"I got it covered." I grinned.

"Huh?" He stood confused.

"Tauros! Take down! Miltank! Rollout!" The Ingles commanded.

Lucario released a dark wave of energy. Miltank bounced up like a ball to avoid the blast, but it hit Tauros dead on. Unfortunately, it also hit Scizor. _Oh no! I forgot to warn Kyle!_ Miltank came out of the air and struck down Scizor with a thud.

"Watch it Shonna!" He yelled. "You're going to have to stop using telepathy for this battle. I need to know what you're going to do." He looked back to Scizor nervously. He looked weakened, but was able to stand.

I was so nervous. This was my first double battle since Kanto, but I knew there was no excuse for this. "S-sorry Kyle."

"Rest Tauros!" Tauros was healed a great deal by his nap, but he would stay that way for a couple turns. I had that to make good on.

"Wake-up slap Miltank" Mrs. Ingle giggled as she looked to her husband. "Just like I do to you in the mornings honey!"

It took me a minute to realize this attack wasn't meant for us. Miltank ran over to Tauros and slapped him awake.

"Those stupid healing moves are getting annoying." Kyle clinched his fists, and I wondered if he was more annoyed with me.

"Milk drink Miltank!" Again, miltank pulled out a bottle of milk, but it was quickly sliced in half, and the contents spilled out all over Miltank. Lucario jumped back, flipping around the aura bone, before turning to me.

"_C'mon Ma! Just chill out! I know of all people, you two can definitely work together!"_ He stared at me seriously.

"You're right Lucario." I smiled. A pep talk, just what I needed. "Okay Kyle, let's do this thing."

Kyle smiled. "Glad to have you back."

"Lucario! Use Dark Pulse!" I yelled it as loud as I could.

"Scizor jump!" Kyle called. Scizor leaped over the energy that hit the cow couple hard.

"Miltank! End this with Rollout!" Mrs. Ingle cried. The groggy Tauros struggled to stand up behind her, as Miltank charged toward Scizor. Lucario leaped behind him, ready for our attack.

"Scizor! Flip it with your Strength!" Kyle yelled. Scizor caught the rolled Miltank, and flipped it behind him. He slammed it down, but Miltank continued to roll, this time toward Lucario.

"Bone Rush! Here's the pitch! Get ready Scizor!" I yelled.

Lucario held back the bone club, and swung it hard at Miltank, she rolled back toward Scisor, but he leaped to avoid it. The sleepy Tauros's eyes opened wide when he saw the Miltank headed his way, but not quick enough to avoid it. They crashed into each other, and were instantly knocked out.

"Yeah!" I gave Kyle a high five.

"Haha." Mr. Ingle laughed, returning his pokemon. His wife did the same. "That was a lot of fun! I thought for a minute there we were going to win!" He handed Kyle our money.

"I did too." I admitted.

"We should do that more often honey!" Mrs. Ingle said, all smiles.

"Well, not too much." He laughed. "We don't want to lose that much profit."

Me and Kyle said goodbye and walked away. I looked up at him sadly. "Are you mad at me?"

"No, but I would have been if you'd kept using telepathy." He winked.

"Sorry!" I whined. "It's just a habit I have with Lucario."

"I understand." He ruffled my hair. "But don't do it when we're double battling."

"Okay…" I was glad he wasn't mad. I watched him pull out the case for his bike, and toss out its handy capsule. The motorcycle appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Hey wait!" Two small boys in boy scout outfits approached us. "We saw your fight just now! We'd like to battle you too!"

"Again?" I sighed, before pulling out a different pokeball to use.


	24. Shop Til' the Galactics Drop!

**x-x-x**

Episode 23: Shop 'Til the Galactics Drop!

It was about a week before we made it to Veilstone City. The trainers on this road were particularly pesky, constantly wanting battles. We beat them all of course. I even got some more practice double battling with Kyle. We also stopped to check out Sunyshore City. We got right up to the gate, and they wouldn't let us in. They said that the main bridge to Sunyshore had collapsed after the Lake Valor explosion, and it was going to take a while to rebuild.

We decided then to leave, and see if we could find out what happened to Lake Valor. Again, we got right to the entrance, and they wouldn't let us in. Officers were crawling all over to try and figure out what happened. I peeked over the people, and could see the entire lake was now nothing more than puddles! There was some sort of underwater cave that had been completely demolished. We asked Officer Jenny what they knew, but all they would say is that something strange had happened at all three of Sinnoh's lakes. And, while this was the worst, the others also had caverns that were reduced to rubble as well.

"I wonder what happened?" I asked as Kyle put his bike away. We were standing on the outskirts of Veilstone City now. There were some old meteorite ruins close by, but there were only two things that held my interest in this city. My eyes scanned over the Veilstone Gym, the large department store, and… "Hey! What is that neat looking building on the hill? It looks kind of old, and has satellites on it."

A passerby walked stoically toward me. The man looked like he was in a hurry, but I stopped him anyway.

"Hey you!" I called. "Do you know what that big white building with all the satellites and stuff is?"

"Huh?" The man turned. "Oh that? That building's been there forever. I heard it used to be a prison, but I also heard a rumor that it's some sort of new television station they're putting in. Competition for the one in Jubilife. That's what I heard anyway." He continued walking until he was out of sight.

"A TV station? Awesome!" I tugged on Kyle's sleeve. "I wanna go! I want to be on TV again! It was so cool seeing myself last time."

"Eh?" Kyle turned to look at the building. "No, I don't think we should."

"Oh c'mon!" I ran toward the building. It sat high on a hill, but I ran up the long stairs anyway.

"Shonna! Wait up!" Kyle cried. He was following me. I ran for the gate, but it was shut tight. There were high fences like you would see around a prison. They had barbed wire around the top. "Shonna, let's go. This looks more like some sort of military place than a television station." He turned to head back down the stairs.

"Oh. Okay." As I started to walk away, a big red button enticed me on the gate. I looked to make sure Kyle wasn't looking, and inched my finger over to press it. Something pricked it. "Ouch!" I held my finger back. A hologram of a strand of DNA appeared on a screen above me.

"Scanning." A machine's voice called. "Scanning DNA analysis. Welcome Dr. Pluto." The gate opened abruptly, sliding open with a screech.

"How did you do that?" Kyle asked. "Why did it think you were some doctor?"

"Who cares?" I grinned. "The thing must be busted. But let's check it out!" I ran through the gate, hurrying to the first building I saw.

"Shonna wait! We really shouldn't be doing this!" Kyle called from behind. I ignored him and went to peek through the window. In every corner, there was a team galactic member.

"Eep!" I jumped down from the window to hide. "It's not a tv station." Kyle looked like he was going to look through the window, so I pulled him down. "It's Team Galactic's base!"

"Oh." Kyle frowned. "We'd better get out of here then. If they find us, we're dead."

"Hmm." I didn't want to leave, because it would be just awesome if we could break in there and bust up their operation. But Kyle was right. There were too many of them.

Suddenly, something shook in my bag. A red light beamed, and Lucario stood before us.

"Lucario!" I tried to keep my voice low. "Get back in there! Now's not the time for you to be breaking out of your pokeball."

"_But Ma!"_ He whined. _"There's a lot of pokemon in there. I can sense they're all in a lot of pain! We have to help them!"_

"We'll go tell Officer Jenny about this. That's the best we can do Lucario." I said sternly, holding up his pokeball. "Now get back in."

"_If you're not going to help them…"_ He hung his head, before taking off running. _"Then I will!"_

"Lucario get back here!" I stood up to chase him. "They'll catch you and do experiments on you!" He was already in one of the buildings, running down the halls. _Please stop!_ I screamed in my head.

"Shoot." Kyle shook his head. "Guess there's no getting around it now. Let's go get him."

We ran into the building, and I was surprised at just how much it reminded me of a high school. We snuck into a hallway, and I could see a small gymnasium area. A few grunts were playing ball in there. "I guess even galactics have to have recreation."

"We're never going to be able to sneak around here looking like this." Kyle pointed to two rooms with female and male symbols on the doors. "Let's check those out and see if we can steal some disguises."

"Kay." I tiptoed into the ladies locker room. Sure enough, a couple galactic women were singing behind the black shower curtains. I quietly ran up to see where they'd hung their clothes. "You've got to be kidding me." I said under my breath. Every one of the outfits was some sort of tight bodysuit. The closest one to my size, was still too small. I winced as I ran to a shower to change into it. I felt like a sausage being stuffed into a casing as I zipped up the thing, but I made it work. Sucking in a deep breath, I stuffed my other clothes into my tote bag and walked out unnoticed. I felt kind of bad though. Some poor lady was going to find out her clothes were stolen. _Oh wait, it's a galactic. Forget it. I don't feel bad anymore._

I walked out of the room to see Kyle in a white lab coat, with some really thick round, nerdy glasses on. When he saw me, he looked surprised, then grinned from ear to ear.

"Oh hush." I said, turning red. "It's all they had! And no fair! You get to be a scientist."

"Well," He placed a green wig on my head. "If you're going to be a grunt, you need to look the part."

I unhappily adjusted it on my head, tucking my long hair into it. "Fine. Let's go. I'll try to see if I can find Lucario's aura." Kyle followed behind me as we walked down the hall. I really wasn't very good at this aura stuff, so I could only hope I was going the right way. Some galactics stopped to glance at us, but nothing too out of the ordinary. A few even stopped to chat about the recent missions. Me and Kyle did our best to play our act up as we continued down the hall. Eventually, I stopped at a large metal door. It had another scanner attached to it.

"Hey! What are you doing?" A grunt approached us.

"Sorry, we're new." Kyle adjusted his glasses.

"Well, no one's allowed in that part of the building except the commanders."

"Commanders?" I asked dumbfounded.

"Yeah! You know, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Dr. Pluto and Cyrus. You guys get away before you get us all in trouble." The grunt mumbled something else before walking away.

"I think Lucario somehow got in there." I said once he'd left.

"Yeah, but how do we get in there?" Kyle asked.

"Well, if this scanner is like the other one," I held a finger up to it, getting pricked again. I wiped the blood away. "It should work."

"Scanning." The machine beeped. "Welcome back Commander Venus."

The door clanged open.

"Haha. These scanners they have are so dumb! Now they think I'm some Commander Venus!" I laughed before walking on in.

"Hmm... maybe. But I don't remember them mentioning a Venus." Kyle looked confused, but pressed on as well.

This next part of the building was a polar opposite from the last. It was what you'd expect from an evil organization's secret base. Plans of future missions hung on the walls, and bubble filled tubes ran along the ceiling. The place had an eerie green and purple glow to it. It was creepy, but luckily it didn't seem like anyone was around. We walked around, checking out all the rooms. Lucario was nowhere in sight. I knew he had to be close though. Or at least, I thought so.

Suddenly a loud clang erupted, and a commotion could be heard in the room at the end of the hall. The door was even more tightly secured then the last, but I was certain Lucario was behind it. I shoved my finger onto the scanner, wincing from the needle. The door opened slowly.

"Welcome Dr. Pluto." The machine spoke.

"What?" An old man in a lab coat cried out. "You stupid machines! I'm Dr. Pluto! Those are just grunts!" He stared at us. "Get out. You're not supposed to be in here."

"No way!" I yelled. I spied Lucario growling in the back, striking at some large containers. It was dark, so I couldn't tell what exactly he was doing.

"Now stop that!" Dr. Pluto ran to Lucario, looking unsure of what to do to stop him. "Grunts, get that pokemon out of here!"

It took me a second to realize he was speaking to us. I ran up to Lucario, speaking through my mind. _Lucario! What's going on?_

"_It's awful! They're draining the power out of these pokemon."_ He continued striking the tubes. His aura bone club illuminated them, revealing three pokemon I'd never seen before. They looked like they were in a lot of pain. Computers surrounded the three tubes, and I searched feverishly for the scanner. I was in luck. I was going to have a lot of cuts on my finger, but I pricked it again on the scanner. I waited for the computer to ask me commands, but perhaps I was too confident.

"Denied." The computer voice whined. "This is not a match."

"You won't get by that scanner." Dr. Pluto said evilly. "It's much more advanced then our door scanners. I don't know who you two are, but you should leave before I sound the intruder alarm. Leave me to my work."

"Your work is disgusting!" I spat. "How can you spend your life hurting pokemon? Let them go now!"

"No. We need those three to power the ship. Some annoying kids stopped us from getting the Spiritomb and Rotom, but the lake guardians should be more than enough energy to get us there." Pluto cackled.

Kyle threw off the lab coat and changed to his normal glasses. "Well guess what! The annoying kids are here. And we're going to stop you too." He threw out all his pokemon. "Everyone! Give it everything you have to break that glass!"

I threw out all the rest of my pokemon as well. "Yeah! Let's do it!" All of our pokemon attacked the tubes, with their best moves.

"You'll never break those reinforced canisters!" Pluto chuckled. "You're just wasting your time."

"Look weirdo!" I walked right up to the guy. He was old looking. His hair was graying, and he was sort of chunky. "I don't know who you are, but you free these pokemon right now or I'll turn mine on you!" I threw my wig to the floor in anger, letting my long blonde locks fall across my shoulders.

Suddenly the man's face turned almost as ashen as his hair. "It can't be! V-Venus?"

"What?" I was caught off guard.

"Donna!" Pluto looked like he was going to faint. "Is it really you? You've come back?"

"What are you talking about?" _My mother's name? But how would he know that?_ "My name's Shonna! Not Venus, or anything of that sort."

His face regained some color. He hung his head. "I must be mistaken." He walked to the opposite of the room, and slammed his fist against a button. Bright red lights and sirens went off all over the lab. The metal door opened, and Pluto ran through. I started to chase after him, but the door slammed shut. _Why did he call me my mom's name? Was it just a coincidence?_ _Something seemed so strange about that guy._

"Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!" The sirens blared. I looked back to our pokemon, who were working so hard to try and break those pokemon free.

"C'mon! There's got to be a way!" Kyle frantically pressed buttons on the computer, to no avail. _Everyone is working so hard, but what if we can't get them out? What if the grunt army breaks in here any minute and destroys our whole plan?_ I looked down. The one pokemon not doing anything was Luxio. He looked so shocked, maybe this was all too much for him. He looked around sadly. Maybe he'd given up hope, like I was starting to.

Luxio pawed at a box in the corner. He pried it open with his little jaws. I wondered what he was up to. My eyes led from the box, through some wiring, to the containers. Then they flew open, as I saw his fangs charge up with sparks.

"No Luxio!" I screamed, running to him. Before I could reach him, he bit down hard on the wires in the box. Surges of electricity surrounded him. Wires and computers attached began to spark, but the tubes holding the lake spirits remained intact. "Luxio stop!" I reached out to pull him away, but the electric shock forced me back.

"Shonna!" Kyle ran to me.

"He's hurting himself!" I screamed. "It won't be enough Luxio! Please stop!"

Luxio winced from the pain, but held tight to the wirings in his jaws. A white light surrounded him, his fur glistened, and I saw him grow before my eyes to be almost as big as Arcanine. His eyes were crimson red, but they weren't as threatening as I'd imagined. Energy surged out of his fangs, tenfold what it was. A crack appeared on the bubbling tubes, and with a crash, all three burst into nothing but shattered glass.

"That's right Luxray." I said quietly. "Thunder fang."

**x-x-x**

Pluto ran down the hall. Lights were flickering all around the lab. The whole place was in chaos. The grunts were saying that the police were outside, ready to break in any minute. He ran. He had to get to the plane. They'd be leaving soon.

A light flickered, than shattered above him. He covered his head. Who was that woman before? She looked so much like her. Like Venus. But it couldn't have been her. Venus was long gone. It'd been 17 years sense she'd roamed these halls. But she just looked so much like her. And she'd broken through all the security? How? He was sure he'd recalibrated those door scanners last week. They were cheap, but…

He refused to believe any of this. It wasn't Venus. She was too young. But then again, Venus had always been young and beautiful. He however, had aged quite a bit. That's probably what he got for spending his life torturing pokemon though. He smiled. What a mess he'd made of things. But this was what it had all led to. This was what it was all for, so it was worth it. Right?

When he came out to the loading bay, he could see the plane was intact. He could see the three galactic commanders, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn walking around in a hustle inside. He was sure Cyrus was already inside as well.

"Sir! Cyrus!" He heard Saturn yell. "Something's wrong. We're taking in too much energy. At this rate the whole ship's going to explode!"

"Cut it off." Cyrus demanded. "We should have more than enough power from the lake guardians to get to Mt. Coronet's summit."

Mars and Jupiter sat looking bored behind them.

"Sir!" Pluto said exhausted. "Cyrus, I'm here. I'm sorry about the problem, those two kids from before showed up and tried to free the lake guardians. That's my fault, but everything worked out, right?" Pluto stepped up the ramp smiling. Cyrus greeted him at the door.

"Ah, my good friend Pluto." Cyrus had a particularly evil tone to his voice. "You screwed this up," He kicked Pluto hard in the gut, knocking him off the ramp. "So you can get arrested with the rest of these fools!" He slammed the button to raise the ramp up, and the plane lifted into the air.

"No!" Pluto struggled to stand. "Don't go! You promised Cyrus! You promised us!" He raised a hand into the air, but there was no hope. The plane had so much power now, it flew off faster than a jet. Pluto fell to his knees. He could hear the police cars and motorcycles approaching. Before he knew it, his hands were behind his back in handcuffs. They were reading him his rights. He knew this, but he couldn't hear them. "You were right Donna. It was all for nothing."

**x-x-x**

The ceiling either by Luxray's doing, or by the sheer power of the lake spirits, had crumbled around us. We recalled all our pokemon to protect them. The three pokemon were so bright, all I could see were silhouettes of them. The lake guardians. I had heard legends of them, but I didn't think they were real. They all flew up into the sky, bowing their heads as if to thank us, before disappearing in three different ways.

"Stop right there!" Officer Jenny busted down the metal door. She backed up as pieces of the wall crumbled away. "You're under arrest for the mistreatment of pokemon and illegal activity, galactic members!"

"What? Oh no!" I yelled. "We're not galactics. I'm just wearing the suit!"

"Like I'm going to fall for that one." Jenny rolled her eyes, bringing out the handcuffs. A growlithe stood behind her, ready to subdue us, if need be.

"It's true Officer Jenny." Kyle pulled out his trainer case, where our trainer licenses were held. I held mine out as well.

Growlithe approached us inquisitively. "Arf!" He barked, looking up at Jenny. Kyle smiled, and I could tell he was thinking about when he had a growlithe.

"Well." Jenny looked over our trainer's cases and identification. She scanned the id numbers with some handheld device at her side. "They check out, but growlithe's a good judge of character, and he seems to think you're okay." She handed them back to us. "You kids better get out of here though. This place looks like it's about to fall apart." She sighed. "I can't believe this whole time, this old building was a Team Galactic base." She sulked as she walked away, and her growlithe followed obediently.

I hugged Kyle tight. "That all was so scary!"

"Mmhmm…" I noticed he wasn't looking at my face as he hugged back, but instead his eyes were traveling up and down the length of the bodysuit I was in.

I glared at him. "Don't get used to it. I'm getting out of this thing at the first opportunity."

He laughed. "Okay, okay."

And that's exactly what I did. There were no rooms left to change in, in the dilapidated building, besides that, the police wanted us out as soon as possible. I was forced to walk all the way to Veilstone's pokecenter like that. Some people turned to look at me. Some were yelling, screaming for the police. Kyle snickered as we ran through the pokecenter doors. Nurse Joy looked at me with shock on her face.

"You stay right there!" She jerked her phone off the desk. "Or I'll call the police."

"I just need to change my clothes, and I'll show you I'm not one of them." I handed Kyle my bag, taking my clothes out. "Explain for me please? And heal my pokemon while you're at it." I ran for the bathroom, to get out of this awful outfit. At first, I thought I might be stuck in it. The zipper was stuck. _I need help!_ _But who would I ask? Kyle? No way!_ I broke the zipper clean off. _That'll work._ I pulled open the jagged sides, and stepped out of it. Relieved, I got back into my much more comfortable normal outfit. Tan pants, purple t-shirt, and blue jacket.

I stepped out smiling as I held the bodysuit in my hands and aimed for the trashcan.

"No!" Kyle ran up and caught it. "I mean, you should keep it! It looked good on you."

"The zipper broke off it. It would just slide off me now!" I tried to steal it back.

"Even better." He grinned.

"No! Not better perv!" I punched him lightly in the gut.

"At least scrapbook it or something." He laughed, handing me back the outfit.

"Scrapbook?" I laughed now as well. "You think I'm one of those girls that sits around scrapbooking?" I looked away now_. How did he know I scrapbook?_ "Now that I think about it, I don't have any pictures of you Kyle. I wish I had a camera."

"Hmm." He didn't reply.

"Well, I guess I'll send this home then." I tucked the suit under my arm, walking over to the pc's video phone. "There's someone I want to check in on first though." I dialed Erica's number. A cheery woman answered on the other end, but it wasn't Erica. This lady had short brown hair.

"Thank you for calling Celadon City Gym. How may I help you?" An oddish climbed into her lap.

"Um, I wanted to speak with Erica."

"Oh, I'm sorry. She's not in right now. She actually just left for a trip to the Sinnoh Region. I'm watching the gym for her. Can I take a message?"

"No, did she happen to say what area she'd be in?"

"No, sorry." The woman looked disappointed that she couldn't help more.

"That's alright. Thank you." I pressed the button to end the call. _Where could she be? I'm really worried about her._ I looked over to Kyle, who was in the corner reading a newspaper. "Ah well." I dialed the next number on my list. Mom. It had a little more than a month since I'd last called her, so I was bound to have my head chewed off for it. Her face appeared on the screen, and sure enough, she looked mad.

"About time you called." She grumbled.

"Sorry." I put one hand behind my head, trying to look innocent. "Been busy. But guess what! I only have four badges left to get."

"Shonna," She sighed, her arms crossed. "I saw you on tv not too long ago. When were you going to tell me about this boyfriend of yours?"

I gulped. She knew.

"Just how long have you been keeping this from me?" She was yelling now. "Who is he? Where? How? Are you being safe?"

My jaw dropped. _Did she really just ask me that?_

"Um, you don't need to worry about that Mrs. Dotson." Kyle said from behind me. "I don't believe in acts of sexual immorality before marriage."

There was a long pause. I took the time to compose myself again, when mom spoke. I saw her eyes go from him, back to looking at me.

"So where'd you say you found this guy?" She seemed calm again.

"Viridian City." I answered honestly.

"You were with him in Kanto?" She yelled again. I held my ears. Kyle seemed all too amused by this.

"Oh! By the way!" I stuck the bodysuit in a slot on the pc. _Changing the subject? Yes I was._ "I'm sending this home. Could you put it in my room somewhere?"

Mom awaited the parcel, and when it came through on her end, her body went rigid. "Where… did you get this?"

"I forgot to tell you!" I laughed. "Kyle and I totally took down Team Galactic's home base!"

As she held the suit in her fingers, her hands started shaking. "Shonna, you need to get back here as soon as you can. We need to talk about some things."

"Can't you tell me now?" I was confused, and concerned.

"No. I can't say it over the phone. Please hurry, and bring your boyfriend." She hung up the phone, and the screen went back.

"Just great." I leaned back in the chair, looking up at Kyle. "Now what do you suppose was wrong with her?"

"I have my suspicions." He said, looking pensive. "Tell me about your family Shonna."

"Not much to tell." I stood up, taking my bag back as I headed out the pokecenter door. "Let me tell you on the way to the department store. It's really close by." He followed behind me. "There's me, and mom. That's it!" I laughed. "I don't have any brothers and sisters like you."

"What about your dad?" He asked.

I sighed. He wasn't going to let this drop. "I don't have one. Well, I guess I do, but I don't know where he is. I used to ask mom when I was little, but she always told me not to worry about it. It always made her so sad, so I learned not to ask anymore." Kyle was looking at me sadly. "Don't worry, it never bothered me. Mom's really fun. She's made life great."

"Do you know anything about her past?" He opened the door for me at the department store.

"What's with the twenty questions?" I glared. "What are you getting at?"

"Nothing!" He gulped. "Just curious."

"As far as I've always known, she's worked part time as an editor for the local paper. As soon as I was able, she put me to work with the day care center to make some extra money. I don't really know anything before that."

"Okay, just chill!" Kyle laughed. "You're in a big girly store! You should be happy!"

I looked around me. All kinds of pokemon merchandise and clothing surrounded me. I smiled, before running around the room checking out everything in sight.

I picked up a heavy coat, a hat, gloves, everything I'd need. If we were headed to Snowpoint City soon, I'd need it. I set everything on the counter, paying for it. I looked around for Kyle_. Where'd he go?_

"Thank you." The cashier gave me my change, and my bags. I lugged around the heavy bags until I found a pc. I sent them to item storage, for when I'd need them later.

"Sorry about that!" Kyle wandered over to where I was. "This place is so huge, I got lost looking around."

"Just don't make a habit of it." I winked. "Kyle, do you have some heavier winter clothes?"

"Yeah!" He nodded. "I have some stuff stored in the pc."

"Good, we might be needing it soon." We headed out the department store, and toward the gym. I loved how everything was laid out in this city. Everything you could possibly want was within walking distance. "You fought this gym right?"

"Yep." Kyle yawned as we approached the gym. "It's a fighting type. Shouldn't be too difficult for you."

"Probably not." I smiled, opening the door. This was the first normal looking gym I'd seen in a while. Just a typical looking stadium.

"Also," Kyle walked up to an office door. "The leader here is pretty new to this." He whispered. "I thought she was easy." He knocked on the door three times.

"Coming!" I heard a girl stumble, tripping on something in the office. "Ouch." She opened the door. She was young, with pink hair and bandages all over. The girl bowed politely. "Sorry! I'm Maylene! How can I help you?" She looked up to see Kyle. "Why are you here again?" She looked a bit antsy all the sudden.

"Don't worry," Kyle chuckled. "I won't be battling you, but she will." He pointed over his shoulder to me. "And she's just as strong as I am."

"Don't say that!" I held my hands up nervously. "I'm really not. But I would like a gym battle if that's okay."

"Sure." Maylene sighed. Obviously lacking in the confidence department. "Three on three okay with you?"

"Sure." I said, taking my spot on the arena.

"Let's get this over with." She grumbled as she walked to the other end. "Go Meditite!"

The strange looking pokemon hopped from his pokeball, sitting in a meditative stance on the floor. I never liked them. They were fighting and psychic type. I tried to think. _Luxray knows a couple dark moves, but he might not fair as well with the fighting portion of it. I'm itching to use him in battle, but I guess I'll wait._ For now, I tossed out a pokeball I knew would work well.

Lucario glanced back at me. _"Finally!" _He groaned, smiling the whole time.


	25. One Way Auranother!

**x-x-x**

Episode 24: One Way Aura-nother!

_I'm gonna beat cha, I'll beat cha!_ I sang in my head. Lucario smiled at me.

Maylene smiled for some odd reason. It was unexpected, considering how glum she'd been a few minutes before.

"Oh yeah!" Kyle yelled out from a bench behind me. "She has a Lucario too! Just thought I'd give you a heads up."

"Really?" I turned all the way around to look at him. "That could be trouble for me down the line." I turned back to the battle. Meditite remained in a meditative position, before I realized that it wasn't for show. The thing had been really meditating and raising its attack power all along_. Lucario! Force palm it!_ I issued this command in my head.

Aura surrounded Lucario's paw as he went in for a slap on Meditite.

"Use detect!" Maylene cried. The meditite swiftly avoided the attack. Maylene gave me a serious look. "You might as well yell your commands out instead of pulling that cheap trick."

"Heh? Cheap trick?" I scoffed.

"That's right." She said, arms crossed. "I know some trainers can train their lucarios to use telepathy, but that won't work with us, so you might as well say what you want to say."

"I take it your lucario doesn't use it?"

"No. Most don't you know. But we make up for it."

I smiled. "Well, it's good to see you have some confidence."

She looked away for a second. "Meditite! Show them a real Force Palm!" Meditite had a pink glow around its hand as it leaped to strike Lucario.

"Lucario!" I yelled. "Dark Pulse!" A wave of energy sprayed out from him instantly, throwing back Meditite hard. It was super effective. "Now Bone Rush!" Lucario ran with aura bone in hand. Before Meditite could stand again, he struck him down with it. Meditite was finished.

"Return." Maylene zapped him back to his pokeball. "It's time I show you what a lucario can learn when it doesn't waste its time on the human tongue."

Maylene seemed very defensive about this issue. Lucario frowned at her as she released her own out onto the field.

The lucario looked more less the same as mine. Other than the fact it couldn't talk to her, I couldn't see why she thought hers was so different. I watched closely as the other lucario growled at mine, forming a bone club in its paws as well. As the two clashed, smashing their makeshift swords against each other, I struggled to keep my eye on which one was which.

Suddenly, one took the advantage, getting the occasional hit in on the other one. It struck its knee, bringing it down. Then, it struck the lucario across the face, throwing him backwards.

"Lucario?" I called out. He turned his head weakly to me. He was the one on the ground. The other lucario backed up, in preparation for another attack. "Whatever it is Lucario, dodge it." My Lucario stood, clutching onto his club like a cane.

"Aura Sphere!" Maylene cried, and I watched helplessly as her lucario formed a ball at the end of his paws. It grew and grew in size. Lucario stood staring at it, mouth agape. When the other lucario threw this massive ball, Lucario didn't dodge. He instead threw up his bone club in defense. It kept it at bay for only a second, before disintegrating it and hitting Lucario hard. He fell to the ground with a thud, and passed out. I recalled him.

"You can't dodge an aura sphere attack." Maylene said quietly.

"Yeah I know that now! Excuse me for not knowing anything about that attack!" I screamed at her, clenching my fist around Lucario's pokeball. This whole thing really bothered me, and I wanted it to be over. I threw out my next pokeball. "Go Rapidash! Use Flare Blitz!" Rapidash charged out of the ball, engulfed in blue flames. Lucario tried to toss another aura sphere at him, but Rapidash tossed it aside with his long horn. He charged into Lucario, making him fly across the stadium. "Now Bounce!" I cried. Rapidash leaped into the air, and back down, driving his hard hooves into Lucario. Seeing this Lucario be knocked out as well, did nothing to make me feel better like I'd hoped. My shoulders sank as I watched her recall it.

"With that thing, I don't stand a chance." Maylene mumbled. "Go Machoke."

A machoke crawled out onto the stage, flexing its arm muscles.

Kyle laid a hand on my shoulder. "Don't let your anger get the best of you."

"Right. I know." I recalled Rapidash. "Go Staravia!" My faithful bird pokemon flew out above me. She seemed almost as if she were smiling at me.

"Machoke! Wait for a chance to grab it!" Maylene grit her teeth nervously.

"Staravia, Wing Attack!" Staravia dove in, hitting Machoke. He tried to catch her, but missed. "Again!" She again dove in, but this time one of Machoke's arms latched onto her.

"Machoke!" Seismic Toss!" Maylene grinned. Machoke lifted Staravia up high, before slamming her back down with a thud. The gym floor cracked beneath her.

"Star!" She cried. She got up, but she didn't fly away like I'd hoped. Instead, she jumped back on her feet and stood. _Could her wing be acting up again?_

"Staravia! You okay?" I called out to her. She turned to me, and winked, before a white light engulfed her. She became a Staraptor before my eyes. I grinned. That little beat up starly I found had so quickly turned into this huge bird pokemon. I wanted to run up to her and pet her new pretty red feathers, but I remembered I was in a battle. "Staraptor! Use Fly!"

Staraptor flew up, so high I had to had to squint to see. I felt the wind as she dove back down on Machoke.

"Choke!" Machoke fell down, and tried to grab for Staraptor again. She was too fast, and dove back down on him again. Machoke was knocked out.

"Awesome job Staraptor!" I ran up and hugged the massive bird midair.

"Star!" She struggled not to scratch her sharp talons against me. I returned her, smiling the whole time. She was big enough now, to where I could ride on her back if I wanted to.

"You won." Maylene sighed as she walked up to me. "As expected. Here. Take this badge."

"You shouldn't put yourself down so much Maylene. I had to use my best pokemon to beat your Lucario. And you're right, I need to work on training mine more." I took the badge, placing it in its case. "But really, thanks for the battle."

Maylene looked a bit surprised. "Well, you're welcome. Sorry for giving you such a hard time." She smiled. "I'm sure you and your friend there will do great at the league competition."

"Some better than others." I glared back at Kyle, who stared back at me innocently.

"If you stop by the gym in Snowpoint city, say hello to Candice for me, would you?"

"Sure. We'll be passing by there at some point." I waved. "Bye now." Kyle took my hand as we walked out the door.

"You did great." He squeezed my hand a little. "Got a little too worked up, but good job."

"I can't help it." I said frowning. "She was putting down Lucario."

"Ah, a mother's pride." Kyle joked.

"He really is like my baby." I said angrily. "He even calls me his mom you know."

"Just don't forget you're not." He winked. "Speaking of which, just where did you get the riolu egg? I remember you mentioned in Kanto it was from 'someone special'."

I blushed. "Umm I uh…" I stopped. Probably best if I didn't get into all that. Kyle would think I was crazy if I told him I was spirited away by a prince-like man. "Well, he was a guy."

Kyle suddenly let go of my hand. "What?"

"Yeah and he gave it to me." I tried to run away, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"And his name?" He looked serious.

_Sir Aaron. Yes, he'll think I'm crazy if I say that._ "I don't really know. He had spiky dark hair, and he wore a blue outfit, and a feather hat. He had a Lucario."

"You know a lot about this guy." Kyle held me closer. "When did you meet him?"

"Back in Kanto. Before I started travelling with you." I was getteing angry now. He had no right to be acting like this. I did nothing wrong. "I saw he had a Lucario, and I talked to him, and he gave me an egg. Simple as that. Now you mind letting me go?"

"I feel like there's something you're not telling me." He let go of my arm.

I sighed. "Nothing happened Kyle." There was a long pause after this.

"Sorry Shonna." This time he grabbed both my hands. "I just can't stand the thought of you with another man."

"You don't need to worry about that." I blushed again.

He brushed a finger against my cheek, smiling again. He let the rest of his palm rest on my face before pulling me into a kiss.

I stood dazed for a second afterwards. "You're forgiven." I laughed, but it did bother me to know he was right. I wasn't telling the whole truth. But I knew Kyle was a realist, and didn't really believe in the supernatural. He wouldn't have believed me anyway.

"We should get going. Your mom seemed really anxious to meet me." Kyle grinned, throwing out the capsule for his motorcycle.

"Sheesh. You and your technology." I threw out Rapidash. I did promise him some time outside his pokeball. "You feeling up to a race Rapidash?" My loyal horse whinnied at me. He had a grin on his face as he bucked me onto his back. "Guess so!" I looked back to Kyle before taking off on my steed. "See ya!"

"We'll see about that!" Kyle jumped onto his bike, taking off after me.


	26. With Fire In Her Eyes!

**x-x-x**

Episode 25: Fire in Her Eyes!

I arrived at the entrance to Solacean town just a hair behind Kyle. I told him it was just from Rapidash being a little tired from the last gym battle, but winning wasn't important to me anyway. I pet Rapidash gently. He seemed happy to be home again. I could see him glancing over to the day-care center.

"We'll check it out later." I pet him again, gliding my hand down his back. His blue flames weren't hot at all, despite their appearance. I stopped my hand, touching the flames on his mane. He had a grayish shade to them that I hadn't noticed before. I glanced down to his tail. Something was definitely different about it. It looked, dull. "Kyle! I gotta run to the pokemon center!" I led Rapidash over to the center quickly.

"Hey wait for me!" He followed behind, struggling to put his bike away.

"Nurse Joy! Nurse Joy!" I cried. The normal pink haired woman greeted me. I knew this nurse joy much better than the others though. She was one of the better ones. "Something's wrong with my Rapidash! His flames are graying out!"

Nurse Joy gave me a surprised look as she looked Rapidash over. "No Shonna. Don't worry. This is a shiny rapidash, correct?"

"Yes." I looked to Rapidash, and he gave me a confused look.

"With age," Joy continued. "Shiny rapidash will lose their blue colored flames. They'll start turning a gray or silver color. Honestly I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. Most do as soon as they evolve."

"Oh." Kyle was standing behind me now, and I felt a bit silly for making such a scene. "Well, I was just worried. Thank you Joy. Think you could heal my pokemon for me?"

"Sure thing Shonna." She took my pokeballs and Rapidash over to the healing machine.

"You're so cute." Kyle chuckled.

"I was just worried about him." I hung my head. "It is kind of sad though. Rapidash is getting old."

"Not that old!" Kyle laughed. "He's fine. It's just natural. I mean, Arcanine's fur's getting kind of long and wispy too."

"I know." I smiled. "I don't have to worry too much. All of our pokemon still have plenty of spunk. But I wonder how Rapidash will look with gray flames."

"All done!" The perky Nurse Joy returned my pokeballs to me. Rapidash followed behind. "They're all looking well. Seems like you're taking good care of them. Are you going to let them see the others at the day-care center?"

"That's not a half bad idea. Yeah, let's do that before we go to mom's. Would you like that Rapidash?"

"Brrrrrrrr!" Rapidash whinnied happily.

"It's settled then." I walked out the pokemon center and tossed out the pokeballs. The day care center was right across the dirt road, and I could see everyone playing in the field. "Alright everyone, let's go see our old friends!" Rapidash and Lucario leaped the fence. Staraptor flew right over. Grotle and Luxray stood behind, staring up at me confused. "It's okay." I nudged them a bit. "I know you haven't met them, but my other pokemon are really nice. Go have some fun!" They smiled at me before heading to the field as well.

"Mind if I let my pokemon out too?" Kyle asked.

"Not at all. The more the merrier."

"Okay! Come on out everyone!" Kyle tossed out all his pokeballs. Munchlax took to the others immediately and began running around playing. Absol seemed to be chasing after him, making sure he didn't steal the food. Charmeleon and Scizor didn't play, but instead began to train with each other on the field. I noticed Lucario walk over to join them. Arcanine happily bounded around the field, meeting and greeting everyone. I noticed Skarmory and Grotle chasing playfully after my Butterfree, and Luxray was checking out a Shinx we had on the grounds.

"Por Por-e!" Vaporeon ran over to me immediately.

Me and Kyle hopped the fence. "Hi Vaporeon!" I pet her head. "How have you been?"

She smiled before taking off toward the pond. "Por!"

"Look! Umbreon's over there." Kyle smiled, walking toward the pair. Umbreon had something tucked underneath one paw.

"What's that?" I approached him carefully. He guarded the beige object defensively. Vaporeon nudged him happily, as if to say, "It's okay."

Umbreon pulled one paw back to reveal a light brown pokemon egg with darker brown spots.

"It's a pokemon egg!" Kyle reached out for it, and Umbreon cautiously obliged. He picked up the egg and handed it to me. "Look what your Vaporeon and my Umbreon made!"

I blushed. The situation was a bit awkward, but true. I took the egg carefully in my hands. I looked down to Vaporeon who nodded at me. "I'm going to take it inside and check it out."

"I'll come with you!" Kyle followed behind as we walked into the center's back door.

"Stephen! You get out there and clean up the field right now!" A loud female voice echoed through the center, surprising me so much I almost dropped the egg.

"Jeez Ang! Give me a break here!" I saw Stephen running around in his green apron, doing about twenty things at once. Whoever that voice belonged to, did a good job at getting him to do more than sweep the floor. Suddenly, our eyes met, and a big goofy smile came across Stephen's face. He ran up and hugged me. "Thank god you're back!" He squeezed me tighter, and I struggled to keep a gap between his burly body and the egg. "She's working me to death here!"

Kyle's hand shoved against Stephen. "Hey! Back off her!"

Stephen let go and stared at us dumbfounded. "Oh. Where'd you get the egg?"

"You mean you didn't even know it was out there?" I whined. "How long has it been out in the field with no attention?"

A girl with short greenish hair and a light green t-shirt came out of the back room. "It's been out there for 3 days now. And I've been going out every couple hours to give it some human association." She adjusted the green apron around her waist. "I take it you're Shonna?"

"And you are?" I stared at this boyish looking girl wearily.

"The name's Angie. Mary and John hired me on a couple months ago. I've heard good things about you. Are you here to work again?"

"No sorry. Just passing through."

"You mean you're not back to stay?" Stephen sulked. "I'm sick of this tomboy bossing me around! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss you. It was nice to have something good to look at around here."

I cringed as Kyle glared at him. Angie looked like she was about to have steam coming out of her ears.

"What did you say about me?" She screamed.

"Ah man! I'm in trouble!" Stephen held onto his broom as he took off down the hall.

"Get back here! Angie screamed, chasing after him. "You still need to scoop the poop from the field!"

"Well." I said quietly. "They make an interesting couple."

"Couple?" Kyle stared at me oddly.

"Yeah, they may not know it but…" I trailed off in my thoughts. "Well, looks like Mary and John aren't here today, so I'm going to go ahead and cross this egg off the list. You want it right?" I looked to Kyle as I took the pen and marked it out on the clipboard.

"Huh? I do?" He thought about it. "Well, sure. If you don't."

"I do have one spot left on my party, but I'm saving it." I looked down at the egg. "Not sure what for, but I feel like I need to." I handed him the egg. "I think it's best if you take it."

"Alright. He placed it gingerly in his arms. "I'll take good care of it."

"Pi! Pi! Pi! Pi!" I spied a yellow rodent rushing down the hall, and couldn't help but smile at how cute he was. "Pi!" Pichu took a flying leap and landed right on the egg Kyle was holding. Kyle was surprised, but held firm to the egg.

"Well hello there little guy!" Kyle took one hand and scratched his head. "You doing well?"

"Pi!" Pichu licked at Kyle's cheek.

He laughed. "Hey that tickles!"

I smiled as Pikachu appeared on the front counter. "Pika!"

"You taking care of things around here while I'm gone Pikachu?" I pet her, scratching behind her ears.

"Pi! Cha!" She smiled happily.

"Me and Kyle are going to Mom's house now, would either of you like to come with us?" I looked at the pair of yellow mice, who looked at each other.

"Pi?" Pichu looked to his mom.

"Pika." Pikachu nodded to him.

"Pi!" Pichu raised his little paw high in the air. "Chu!"

"Guess that's settled." Kyle smiled as Pichu crawled up on his shoulder. He stuffed the egg in his backpack. Pikachu stayed back to watch over things as we walked out the front door.


	27. The Story Behind Team Galactic!

**A/N: Took a bit of creative license with Team Galactic's origins.**

**x-x-x**

Episode 26: The Story Behind Team Galactic!

"Pi! Pi Cha!" Pichu sang a tune on Kyle's shoulder as we walked up the hill. My house was not too far away. It was closer to the Solacean ruins, and the sun was starting to set, but I could see the light from the windows. Soon, we were up to the door. I sucked in a breath before knocking three times. The door creaked open, and my dear Duchess and Delcatty immediately pounced me.

"Whoa! Down you two!" I pushed them gently aside to get up again. They persisted in rubbing against my legs, and Duchess even took the notion to rub against Kyle's.

"I think she remembers me!" Kyle smiled.

"Of course." I smiled back, pushing the door open to walk inside. Everything was perfectly spotless, as always. As we walked in, I found her tidying up the kitchen. "Mom! We're here!"

"Oh!" She straightened her skirt out as she approached us. "Welcome home Shonna." She looked at me, then to Kyle. "You're the boyfriend?"

"That I am." He nodded. Pichu mimicked him, nodding as well.

Mom tried to hold the serious look on her face, but she gave in and ran up to pet Pichu. "He's so cute and little!"

"Pi!" Pichu let off a tiny bit of static happily.

"Anyone who has a pokemon this cute can't be that bad." She squealed.

Kyle chuckled. "Well, thanks I guess."

"Don't get me wrong." Mom glared at me. "I'm still very angry with you for not telling me."

"I know. That's why you called us over here right?" I hung my head. "To talk about that?"

She looked surprised. "No. I wanted to talk about this." She pulled the galactic bodysuit out and held it up.

"That? I thought I already explained that." I smiled. Looking around me, I noticed both Kyle and Mom looking very serious. "What?"

"Am I right to assume you have some kind of connection to Team Galactic?" Kyle looked to Mom.

"What?" I repeated.

"Well, you got a smart boyfriend." Mom took a cake over from the counter to the table. "Let's sit down."

Kyle and I sat down to a slice of cake being cut for each us. Mom pushed the plate in front of us, and I grinned before digging in. _Chocolate. _I thought to myself._ My favorite._

"First of all," She sat down, before pushing a wrapped package toward me from across the table. "I'm glad you were able to get here today. Happy birthday Shonna!"

I gasped. I'd completely forgotten! It was already another year gone, and I was seventeen now.

"Did you forget?" Kyle laughed. "It's not wrapped but…" He pulled a small box up onto the table, sitting it in front of me. "I got you something too, while we were at the department store earlier. Happy Birthday."

"But Kyle!" I had to stop and think. _How had he remembered? I hadn't told him that since Kanto_. I looked down at the box, which had a big picture of a camera on it. "No way! A camera?"

"Yeah!" He smiled. "You said you wanted to have some pictures of us?"

"I do!" I pulled the silver camera out of its box. It looked easy enough to work. I held it up and snapped a picture of Mom and Kyle. It made a noise when the film advanced. "This is a good day, so I'll take one now!" I smiled.

"Hey!" Mom sulked. "What about my present?"

"Oh! Right!" I put the camera down and opened the little package, inside, sitting in a mound of paper, sat a purple pokeball.

"Wow! A new pokeball." I held it up. "What's it do?"

Kyle suddenly looked shocked. "I've never seen one like that."

"It's a masterball." Mom looked down. "They're really rare. It's one of the ones that can catch any pokemon. First try."

Me and Kyle sat jaw dropped. "Where did you get that?" Kyle blurted out. "They won't just let anyone have one of those. My mom works at the Cinnabar Lab back in Kanto. She told me they've been trying to get a hold of one of those for years!"

"Well, that leads to the part about the galactic suit." Mom looked to me. "Shonna, there's some things you should know. And, it has to do with me and your father."

"My dad?" I looked at mom strangely, still clutching the master ball. She looked distraught, and part of me wanted to stop her, but I remained quiet.

"I met your dad when I was very young. We were just kids, but we were best friends growing up. Me, your dad and Cyrus." She sighed.

"Cyrus?" Kyle interrupted. "That name sounds familiar." I nodded, but I couldn't remember where I'd heard it either.

"The three of us were kind of delinquents of Sunyshore City. We caused all sorts of trouble. And all the adults would yell at us for it. Cyrus was a bit older than us, so he was kind of like the leader. He always said we'd show them some day. We'd find a way to have a world of our own, where we could make our own rules, and no one would boss us around. It was our dream. Me and Cyrus began training pokemon, but your father was much more interested in studying them. Cyrus said this was all good, but we needed a secret base. Sunyshore is so densely populated. There was no available space for a base there. So high up on a hill in Veilstone City, we built a little building for us to meet."

Kyle's eyes widened, but I still wasn't getting it.

She continued. "We grew up, and put more money into the base. We made it quite grandeur. Me and your father got married, and worked under Cyrus at the base for years. I started noticing a change in Cyrus. He became more demanding on us, and the pokemon we were studying for our plans. He refused to call us by our real names, and instead named us Commander Venus and Dr. Pluto."

"What?" I rose from the table pushing my hands down on it. "What are you saying Mom? That's the names of those people from the galactic base! The ones those crappy dna scanners kept thinking I was!"

Mom smiled. "We got those dna scanners for dirt cheap. Everyone was going to the fingerprint analysis. We figured it would be a good deterrent for the new people Cyrus was going to hire. Nobody likes a needle right?"

Kyle nodded, reminding me of his phobia. Pichu had fallen asleep on his head. It was already nightfall, and Duchess and Delcatty were curled up next to each other on the floor. I slumped back into my chair.

Mom took a deep breath. "So then, Cyrus started hiring new grunts, and named our organization Team Galactic."

"No! No! No!" I screamed. "There's no way my parents are the head honchos of Team Galactic!" I put my head down on the table, trying to calm down. "You can't be! I've seen you. I know you're not working with them!"

"You're right. I'm not anymore." Mom frowned, reaching her hand across the table to mine. "I was starting to lose faith in Cyrus anyway, but as soon as I found out I was pregnant with you, I left them."

I didn't say anything now.

"And Pluto?" Kyle commented.

"I begged him to leave with me, but he was still so caught up with Cyrus's dream of another world. He refused. I didn't even tell him about you Shonna. I was too afraid. Cyrus said that if anyone told his scheme, they'd be dead. So I just took off, ending up here in Solacean Town. I gave up everything, and started life anew. I'm sorry Shonna. I didn't tell you, because I didn't want you to get caught up in this. But it seems you have anyway."

I looked up to face Mom, lost in my thoughts. _She really does look just like me. All my life people have asked if we're twins. It's no wonder Pluto mistook me for her. Pluto… my dad_. I munched down another bite of cake, feeling depressed. "Pluto's arrested. All of Team Galactic got arrested thanks to me and Kyle."

"Cyrus isn't." Mom snapped. "There's no way he would have got caught."

"Now that you mention it, I didn't see the new commanders in the lineup either." Kyle noted. "Jupiter and Mars?"

"Who knows how many he took with him." Mom sighed. "But in the end it's all the same. Cyrus only wants this new world for himself. I learned that a long time ago."

"What exactly is his plan?" Kyle leaned over the table.

"It all started about eighteen years ago. We had followed a bunch of old legends we dug up from some ancient books in Celestic Town. They claimed that a new world could be made from the awakening of two ancient pokemon. Dialga and Palkia. One to create space, and one to create time. We tried to tell Cyrus it was just a crazy legend, but he wouldn't believe it. He was desperate to create this new world. We followed the steps to open the gateway to spear pillar, which said to gather two orbs together, and take them to Mt. Coronet's peak."

Kyle looked down to my tote bag sitting next to me_. That pink spherical object. Could that be one of them?_ I didn't take it out to ask.

"Once we got up there, and placed them on their appropriate pedestals, Palkia and Dialga did appear, but there was something Cyrus didn't take into account. He asked the legendary pokemon to create a world for us, but they didn't obey. Instead they turned to each other and started fighting. We had to leave immediately. Since then, those two have been causing all sorts of natural disasters from it. It started out small for a long time. Just a few more storms, a little colder in the winters, but in the past two or three years it's got particularly bad." Mom looked genuinely very remorseful, but I let her continue. "After that, we went back to base to try to uncover a way to control them. Cyrus even managed to get his hands on a pair of masterballs. I'd had enough by this point. I stole one of the masterballs, and took off."

"And now I have it." I held it in my hands carefully.

"I thought it should go to someone who'd use it." Mom smiled halfheartedly. "I only wish I could have got my hands on the other one. It would have delayed his plans even further. Although by now, he may have got a hold of another one anyway."

"You did very well." Kyle smiled, chewing down the last of his cake. "I understand, it all must have been very hard for you. I know what that's like, having someone you think is your friend, and then they betray you."

_Just what did he mean by that?_

Mom smiled. "We were childhood friends. It's very sad things turned out like they did."

"Yes but, you don't have to worry now." Kyle rose from his chair, waking Pichu. "Because we're going to finish this once and for all. Somebody's got to stop his plan."

"Piiiiiii…" Pichu yawned, clinging to Kyle's hair.

"What? What are you talking about?" Mom stood up as well. "You can't take on Cyrus! His pokemon are very strong. I don't care if you are a famous pokemon master."

"Well, sounds like you've made up your mind." I rose as well, walking over to the pc. "What will we need for the top of Mt. Coronet? Snowboots, coat, hat." I picked each item to have sent out of storage immediately. Mom went on a rant before walking off somewhere. "Hey Kyle! I'm logging in as you. Tell me your password and I'll have your stuff sent over too."

Kyle tensed up. "Um, I'll just come do it." Kyle leaned over my shoulder and typed in some long combination of numbers and letters.

"What's the matter?" I asked with a hint of annoyance. "Don't trust me? And what was that bit about friends betraying you? Are you still hung up about me leaving you in Kanto?"

Kyle looked surprised. "No Shonna. I wasn't talking about you." He kissed me on the forehead before walking away.

"Then who?" I turned in the chair, but now Mom was in my face again.

"You can't go there! It's dangerous, not to mention impossible. The mere fact that Cyrus has found a way to get through that storm up there proves that!" She yelled.

"We'll find a way." A beep alerted me that my package had arrived. I pulled open a drawer on the computer to find our new winter clothes packed inside. "Technology sure is wonderful." Kyle had put away my new masterball and camera in my bag, and was waiting by the door as I slipped into my new blue coat and boots. I left the gloves and hat in my bag for now. "Here's your stuff Kyle!" I walked over and handed it to him.

"Thanks." He said, as he put on a bulky leather jacket, that looked like something a biker would wear. It had oversized metal chains and zippers all over it.

"You'll freeze in that!" Mom yelled. I chuckled at her obvious concern.

"Actually it keeps me very warm, but thanks anyway." Kyle smiled.

I touched his arm. "I'm ready to go."

"Kay. Thanks for having us over Donna. Sorry we can't stay longer, but if we're going to do this, we have to go now." He turned to walk out the door.

"Pi!" Pichu waved from his perch on Kyle's shoulder.

"Bye Mom. Thanks for everything." She jerked me back before I could make it out.

"Just wait. Take this." She handed me a small pocketknife. "Just in case he tries anything." She winked.

"Mom! Kyle would never!"

"I know!" She laughed. "But just keep it. It'll make me feel better."

"Fine." I stuck it in my back pocket. "I'll keep it on me at all times if it makes you not worry so much."

"Remember to call me. And please Shonna. Be careful." She held tight to the doorknob. "You don't know what you're getting into here."

"Don't worry." I looked over to Kyle, who was already headed back toward the day-care center. "As long as I have him at my side, I can do anything."


	28. A Pit Stop at Celestic Town!

**x-x-x**

Episode 27: A Pit Stop at Celestic Town!

"Kyle! Wait up!" I ran up to him, clinging to his arm. He smiled at me.

"Hi angel."

I blushed. "We going to go pick up our pokemon?"

"Yeah. If we're going to stop Cyrus, we need to hurry." He looked ahead now, tensing.

"Pi! Cha!" Pichu pointed a little paw in front of him bravely, before Kyle scooped him up in his hands.

"Sorry little bud. You need to stay here with your mom." He said sadly.

"Pi?" Pichu frowned.

"I'd love to take you, but this is way too dangerous. It's best if you stay here."

By now it was dark, and we were at the center's door. They were closed up, but I pulled a key out of my purse to unlock it.

"Pika!" Pikachu hopped on the counter, greeting us.

"Pi?" Pichu's ear perked before he leaped over to his mom.

"It's best this way." Kyle pet Pichu's head before walking out the back door.

"Pikachu." I leaned over the counter. "Keep watching the center for me. And keep an eye on Pichu too."

"Pika!" Pikachu raised her paw up high. "Pi!"

"I know you will." I watched her start grooming Pichu lovingly before I followed Kyle out to the field. He'd already recalled all his pokemon. Mine stood all around me within seconds, indicating they knew something serious was happening as well. Lucario was the only one missing from the group. I recalled the others, and approached Lucario at the opposite end of the field. He had his back turned toward me, and though I tried calling out to him in my thoughts, he didn't seem to hear me. He was concentrating too hard on whatever he was doing.

"Rarrr…" I heard him growl. He held his paws out, leaving a gap between them. A tiny ball of blue aura appeared, before fizzling out. That battle with Maylene must have left a real impression on him. He had been trying to use Aura Sphere ever since.

"Lucario?" I placed a hand on his shoulder, and he jumped.

"_Oh. Hi."_ He let his shoulders slump. _"Ready to go already?"_

"Yep. We'll train more later, kay?" I held up his pokeball, pressing the button to zap him inside. "Guess that's everybody."

"Hey whoa!" Kyle struggled with his backpack, bringing it down to the ground. It was shaking as he unzipped it. The little spotted egg shook all over before a crack appeared down the side.

"Hey Vaporeon! Umbreon!" I called out. "Your baby's hatching."

The happy parents came running to watch the event. The egg shook and wobbled on the ground before cracking all over. Bits of shell went flying as the cutest baby eevee popped its head out.

"Vee?" She tilted her head curiously at us.

"Por!" Vaporeon happily bounced around, and Umbreon stood looking a bit embarrassed, but happy.

"Vee!" Eevee hopped out of the egg, obviously recognizing her parents, but she ran to Kyle, placing her front paws on his legs. _I always find it interesting how pokemon seem to know their trainer, from the moment they hatch._ I smiled as he picked the baby eevee up.

"Hi there." Kyle smiled, stroking the little fox. "Eevee." He sighed. "I have such a hard time with eevees. There's so many evolutions, and I hate having to make that choice."

"Why don't you let Eevee choose?" I suggested. "Hang on one sec." I ran in the day-care center, and pulled a book off the top shelf. I took the opportunity to lock the center door back as well. Running back out to the field, I flopped the book down on the ground. Eevee hopped down to check out what I had. "Look here Eevee. I flipped open the book to a page with a picture of a leafeon and glaceon. These are the two newest discovered. You can only get them here in Sinnoh, by training nearby special rocks."

"Vee." Eevee acted bored.

I flipped the page. "These two, are espeon and umbreon. Once you and Kyle become friendly enough, you could turn into one of these. Maybe you could be like your daddy?"

"Veeeeeeee" Eevee yawned. I flipped the page again.

"This is a flareon and a vaporeon." I stopped when I saw the small chips of stone that were included beside the pictures. "Wow. I didn't know it came with those. Well anyway, you can become one of these by these stones."

"Vee." Eevee was starting to nod off.

"Hmm," I flipped the page. "Last one. This is a jolteon."

"Vee?" Eevee eyed the picture for a long time, staring at it intently.

"Like the others, you would just touch the stone." I started to close up the book, but Eevee suddenly pounced it. "Hey!"

"Vee!" Eevee pressed her paw hard against the chip of thunderstone, and white light shone around her immediately.

"Oh no!" I looked up to Kyle. I wasn't sure if he wanted her to evolve so soon, but he didn't protest. He just shook his head with a smile on his face. Eevee's soft fur turned to yellow spikes, jetting out behind her. By the end, she had to be the world's smallest jolteon, but she was still adorably cute.

"Jol!" Jolteon looked up to Kyle with a hopeful look.

"Good choice." He laughed, before leaning down to her level. "Well, thanks. You ready to be one of my pokemon now?" He held up a pokeball with a smile.

"Jolt?" Jolteon ran to her parents. I watched as she rubbed against them, and vaporeon gave her a farewell lick on the head. "Eon!" Jolteon rushed back to the pokeball, pushing her nose against it, being sealed inside.

"Alright." Kyle placed the pokeball on his belt. "Now we really need to get going. But, let's stop in Celestic Town, since it's on the way."

"Why?" I questioned.

"Your mom didn't seem totally sure on the legends. Besides, that was several years ago. Things might have changed."

"Okay. Celestic Town isn't far at all." I sucked in a deep breath. "Aerodactyl!"

I waited a few moments before my faithful flyer appeared in the air. The massive dinosaur landed in front of us. I climbed on first. "Alright Aerodactyl. To Celestic Town please. You know the way." After Kyle climbed aboard, Aerodactyl took to the air, flying straight to the little town, which was already visible in the distance. I pulled my new camera out of my bag. "Does this thing have a flash on it?" I held up, inspecting all of the buttons, before turning it to Kyle. "Smile!" A flash went off, catching Kyle off guard in the night sky.

"Agh." He rubbed his eyes.

"That wasn't a smile!" I laughed, before snapping another picture. This time he smiled, but it looked fake, or put on.

"You happy?" He asked playfully.

"Very." I smiled, wrapping one arm around him, blushing all the while. I held the camera out with the other arm, and leaned in close to him. "One more okay?" I smiled as I took a picture of both of us.

The wind whipped, and my camera flew from my hand. I tried to grab for the strap on it, but it was just out of reach. Before I knew it, Kyle leaned over top of me, and grabbed it mid air. Even he looked surprised at the odd situation we'd created, but he smiled and leaned down to kiss me. He felt heavy laying on me, though I knew he was actually quite light. Before I knew it, it was over. He slipped the camera back in my bag and sat upright beside me again. I could feel myself turning red, and tried to look away.

He turned my head with his hand. "You're so cute when you blush like that."

I stared at him, feeling embarrassed. "You're blushing too you know."

"What?" He jerked back. "Am not." He turned away now, a slight blush on his face.

I smiled. "You so are."

"Dacccccccctyl!" Aerodactyl crowed. At first I thought maybe she was trying to break up the lovey dovey stuff happening on her back, but then I could see she was just alerting us that we were already approaching Celestic Town. She landed rather abruptly, just in front of this small little village area.

"We're here." Kyle slid off Aerodactyl's smooth back, and I followed suit.

"Thanks Aerodactyl." I pat her back, and she flew off without another word.

"Too bad she couldn't stay and help us up Mt. Coronet." Kyle laughed.

"She doesn't like to go that far from home, or be gone for too long. I think she might have a nest at the Solaceon Ruins."

"I see." Kyle sighed. "We'll just have to find another way. But first, let's check out this town. See what we can dig up."

An elderly woman approached us quickly. "You won't be digging anything up here! So just leave!"

I turned to her and smiled. I knew this women. I've been here before, and I'd went to school with her granddaughter for a while. In fact, she often mistakes me for her, since we both have long blonde hair.

"Cynthia?" She again confused me for her.

"No, sorry Granny. It's Shonna."

"Shonna? Oh yes!" Her eyes lit up. "I haven't seen you here in a while. Not for a year or two I believe. Oh how I wish Cynthia were here to see you today."

"Yeah." Cynthia was the current champion right now. I glanced over to Kyle. I couldn't help but think, that she wouldn't be holding that spot for long.

"Who's your friend?" Granny smiled. "I thought he was coming here to vandalize the ruins, from his tone."

"No." I held my hands up defensively. "This is Kyle. We just came to learn a bit about the legends of Dialga and Palkia."

Granny suddenly looked serious. "Well. I can certainly help you with that." She turned on her heels. "Follow me."

Kyle walked close beside me before whispering. "So that's your grandmother?"

"No. Not at all." I smiled. "I've never met my real grandparents. From what I've been told, they died a long time ago. But I used to be friends with her granddaughter Cynthia for a while, before I dropped out of school you know?"

"Oh yeah." He seemed to remember.

"I would come visit, and she told me old stories and legends. After a while, I just started calling her my grandmother." I looked ahead to the old woman. "She doesn't seem to mind. She watches over this whole town pretty much night and day, so one extra granddaughter wasn't too much for her to handle."

"You don't come visit near enough though!" Granny crooned.

"Sorry." We entered a cave that was dimly lit by torches along the walls. This whole town was so primitive in appearance. "I remember this place."

"I brought you here to tell stories. But that was many years ago. Not much has changed though, so I'm still not sure why you're here." Granny frowned, before stopping at the walls with the hieroglyphs on them. "No one's come through here asking about the legends in quite some time. I haven't even been here in a while."

Me and Kyle looked all around at the empty tunnel, with the two drawings of ancient pokemon on one wall. There was an inscription below them, which granny read aloud.

"Dialga, bringer of time, and Palkia, creator of space. Together, these beasts have the power to create entire worlds and matter within them."

"I don't buy that." Kyle interrupted. "Sorry. But I just don't believe that. Pokemon are pokemon. Some may be stronger than others, but they're still pokemon. Not deities."

"Shh." I nudged Kyle and whispered. "I don't believe it either, but we came here for information remember?"

"Hmph." Granny snorted. "To continue!" She pointed to a lower inscription. "This one was fairly recently discovered. It says, if Palkia and Dialga are awakened, there will be no controlling them. They will fight until they destroy our world. The only way to subdue them, is with the power of the three lake spirits."

"The lake spirits?" I figured she must be talking about the pokemon we rescued from the Galactic base.

"Yes. There's no drawings of them here, but it says their power can merge to form the red chain, the only way to control the legendaries." Granny turned to Kyle. "That's all we know for now. But it is all just a legend you know."

"I know." Kyle investigated the cave painting. "It's just I've read books about people saying there was a pokemon who created these pokemon, and they created our world, and all this stuff. It's all a big hoax if you ask me."

"Well, it's not all a hoax." I said, touching the drawing of Palkia. "Those pokemon are definitely real." I ran my finger across the cave wall, following it out to a wall adjacent to it. Something was chipped away in the corner. Something black. I scraped a fingernail against it, and it chipped away. There was more black underneath.

"I don't doubt that." Kyle nodded. "We saw them after all."

I feverishly worked at scraping away the dusty wall. Soon I resorted to a sharp rock. Everywhere on this wall was black paint beneath a layer of dirt. _Had no one seen this?_ I looked back to Granny and Kyle. They weren't paying a bit of attention to me, so I continued to scrape away.

"You've seen the legendary pokemon?" Granny shouted. "Impossible!"

"It's true!" Kyle yelled. "We managed to get up there and see them."

"Umm… guys!" I yelled, stepping away from my handiwork. "I think I found something." All over the wall, was a black mist, and a purplish hole painted in the middle. A pair of evil eyes shown out of the hole, and a long serpent like outline was painted around it. A faded, and incomplete inscription was at the bottom.

"Child!" Granny walked up to the wall. "What have you found?" She leaned into the writing, struggling to read. "Should the legendary pair ever reach full strength, a mediator will appear. Gir…atina? I think that's what it says. The one to… will take them away… and all in that world will be silenced."

"What does that mean?" Kyle looked tense. "It's going to kill everyone?"

"Don't know." I felt nervous. This third pokemon, looked especially scary.

"It's okay Shonna." Kyle wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "It's not real. I didn't see any other pokemon up there, did you? It's probably just somebody playing a practical joke."

"I'm not so sure." Granny touched a wrinkled hand to the wall. "You may have stumbled upon quite the discovery here Cynthia."

"Shonna, Granny." I reminded.

"Oh yes of course." The old woman began trotting out of the cave. "I'll need to be calling the archeological team over here immediately."

Kyle began walking out with me, his arm still around my shoulders. When we exited the cave, the darkness was overwhelming. Celestic town was right beside Mt. Coronet, and the storm was visible at its peak. I checked the time on my poketch. 10:00. "By now, Cyrus probably already has them." I said under my breath.

"Don't say that." Kyle let go of me and released his Skarmory. "We've at least got to try."

I let Staraptor out, put on my new hat and gloves, and climbed on her back. "You're right. Let's go!" I smiled as we took off to the summit.

The first part of our ride was easy, a bit windy, but no big deal. But almost instantaneously, both Staraptor and Skarmory were blew backwards by a powerful gust, and struggled to go against it. As we got even closer, something icy cold touched my nose, and I could see tiny snowflakes blowing around. I should have expected a snow-topped mountain, but this wasn't good for our pair of flying types.

The snow fell harder and harder the closer we got. And we could hear thunder now as well. I bundled my coat around me, and fought to be able to see in the blizzard. I squinted, and could see tiny icicles forming on the ends of Staraptor's wings. "Kyle!" I screamed. "We need to stop! The pokemon won't be able to handle much more of this!" I couldn't see him, but I prayed he was there.

"Okay!" I heard him yell. "Let's go ahead and land then."

I pushed down a bit on Staraptor, to tell her to land. She dove down to the snow-piled ground below, sinking into it by a couple feet when she landed. She looked so cold. I hugged her briefly before recalling her. "Kyle!" I cried. "Are you there?"

"I'm here." He came up behind me. He'd already put Skarmory up as well.

"Well, now what?" I shivered, my feet covered in snow.

"I guess we'll have to hoof it." He held onto my hand. "I mean, I don't really want to put any of our pokemon through this weather."

"Me either." I admitted.

"Don't let go, okay?" He kissed me on the cheek, and I flinched from the coldness of it. Then, I felt myself being pulled along, and began to walk.

Each step was incredibly arduous. I lifted mounds of snow up with my shoes, making them weigh more. But I kept thinking to myself. _We've got be close. We've just got to be._

It felt like we walked for hours. I wanted to check the time again, but my poketch had a layer of snow and ice on it. My face burned, making me think that maybe I had a layer on me too. I could only see a silhouette of Kyle now. The blizzard was so intense_. I can't do this anymore. I just can't. My body won't hold out._ Kyle gave my hand a tug, but instead of taking another step, I flopped into the snow.

"Shonna!" He screamed. "Shonna! Please hold on!"


	29. The Battle For Our World!

**x-x-x**

Episode 28: The Battle for Our World!

I was running, crying. I was only seven years old. My hair was in pigtails, but I pulled them out, letting my blonde hair flow. _Why did Stephen always have to pull them? He's so mean! And now he was chasing me! Where could I hide from him?_ I glanced to the Solaceon Ruins up ahead. _He'd never follow me in there! He's too scared._ I stopped at the entrance to the caverns, feeling scared myself.

"Shonnaaaaaa! Wait up!" Stephen was yelling to me.

I sucked in a deep breath, before running into the cave. The first floor was lit up. _He'd probably follow me here._ I kept running, down a stairwell, up another one, down again, when I finally couldn't run anymore. Out of breath, I looked around the room I was in. There were lots of drawings of unown on the walls, staring back at me.

I sniffled. "This place is scary!" I ran down another flight of stairs, but I hadn't been here before. All around me were 3 different ways of getting out. _Which one had I came from? I… was lost._ I sat down in the middle of the floor, and began to cry again. "Where am I?"

A pair of glossy eyes stared back at me from the other end of the room, and I scooted against the wall as they approached me. A flame lit nearby, and I could see the huge fox pokemon come closer.

"Ack! A ninetails!" I scooted all the way against the wall. "Stay back! I've read about you in school. You hold grudges against people!"

"Ni?" The ninetails crept even closer.

"No please!" Tears rolled down my cheeks. "I won't touch your tails! Just don't put a curse on me!" I closed my eyes tight.

"Ni.." Ninetails curled up beside me, wrapping her long tails around me. Her fur was soft and warm.

I opened my eyes. "Hey, you're not so bad." I snuggled into her fur. "So you're not going to put a curse on me?"

"Ni Ni!" Ninetails seemed to laugh at this, as she touched one of her orange dipped tails to my face.

I hugged Ninetails tight. "When I grow up, I want a pokemon just like you! One big, and warm, and with fur I can bury my face in." I did so, and felt warmth all over from this fire type. It was late, and slowly, I was lulled to sleep.

**x-x-x**

I woke up from my dream, feeling drained, but warm. My eyes fluttered open, and the first thing I saw was thick black and blue fur. Luxray looked down at me sadly, licking my forehead. I chuckled. "I got what I wanted." I buried my face in Luxray's fur. "And I didn't even notice it."

"Shonna!" Kyle ran to me from the other end of the room. I could see now we were in some sort of dilapidated wooden shed, or cabin. He leaned down to me, pulling back some hair from my face. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry I brought you up here Shonna." He laid down beside me, wrapping his arms around me. "You could have got frostbite, or hypothermia!" He held me even tighter.

"I'm okay." I sat up a bit, leaning against Luxray. I was no doubt tired, but otherwise fine. I now saw Arcanine sitting at the other end of the room. He walked up to me, and put a paw on me. He was apparently glad I was okay as well. "Arcanine. Did you help Kyle find this shelter?"

"Arf!" Arcanine barked.

"Sorry I let Luxray out to watch over you." Kyle sighed. "I just needed to talk with Arcanine for a while, and figure out what we're going to do next. I've already cleared it with him. He's going to run back to Celestic Town for help."

"No!" I sat up again. "It's too dangerous. He'll never make it! Besides… we're so close." I tried to stand up, but Kyle held me down.

"There's no way I'm letting you back out in that." He said firmly. "You could have died out there!"

"I'll be okay now." I argued. "Just let me get up and we'll…"

"No!" He held me tighter. "I won't lose you! Not again!" I saw a glisten in his eye, and a single tear formed in the corner.

"Oh Kyle…" I hugged him back. "I love you. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I mean, to think we could take on two legendary pokemon like this, and the rest of Team Galactic." I laughed, staring at my poketch, which was barely working. The time had stopped on it at two in the morning.

"I wish there was some way." Kyle muttered.

"Arf." Arcanine looked to Luxray, who nodded back at him. Within seconds, Luxray had tossed us onto Arcanine's back, and returned to his pokeball.

"Hey. What are you doing?" Kyle asked, as Arcanine threw our bags on his back, and whirled up a flamethrower attack. "Arcanine! Stop!"

Arcanine let loose a mound of flames onto the cabin, burning a hole large enough for him to leap through. I gripped onto his fur tight, as we took off toward the summit. "Arrrrrr!" Arcanine howled out as he let loose a Heat Wave attack, it surrounded us, and felt warm, but not burning. It melted any snow in his path almost instantly. Then, we gained speed very quickly, and I guessed he was using Extremespeed as well. Arcanine roared again, under the strain of the blizzard, when after a minute, suddenly, the snow stopped falling.

Me and Kyle both were too stunned to say anything. The storm was obviously still going on, and churning above us. But to replace the blizzard, there was nothing but thunder and lightning. This part, the eye of the storm, was not natural at all.

A crashing sound, much louder than the thunder, erupted just above us. Two pokemon, Dialga and Palkia were striking each other midair. Something was wrong though, both of them looked weak and exhausted. And there was some flashes of red. "What is that?" I tugged on Arcanine's fur. He was stopped now, and breathing hard from the run. "Arcanine, can you get us just a bit further?"

Kyle watched the onslaught above us as well. "Don't strain yourself boy."

"Arf." Arcanine smiled, walking up the cliff side.

Soon, we could see the cause of the red flashes. Team Galactic's airship was floating nearby. It had some sort of red light beaming from it, forming a chain that wrapped around Dialga and Palkia's legs. The legendaries writhed in agony, as a man with spiky gray hair stood on the ground before them laughing.

"Dialga and Palkia!" He cackled. "You'll give in before too much longer. With the power of the lake spirits infused in our ship, we've got all day to do this. Give me my world!"

"Never Cyrus!" Kyle called out as we reached the top of the mountain. Kyle slid off Arcanine and ran up to Cyrus. I got down as well, giving Arcanine a chance to catch his breath. I looked around us. This place, was the stuff of legends. Spear pillar had a colonnade surrounding the grounds, but almost all of them were broken now. I looked up to the Galactic ship, and could see three commanders at the hem. Mars had a particularly angry face staring back at me through the glass.

"And just who might you two be?" Cyrus approached us. "Leave. I've got important business to take care of."

"Not going to happen." Kyle pulled a pokeball from his belt, pressing the button to enlarge it. "I don't really get your plans, but we're going to put a stop to it!"

"Don't tell me. I know." Cyrus looked to me. "Yes. That fool Pluto never figured it out, but it's obvious you're Venus's daughter."

It took me a second to remember that I was indeed, just that.

"Just to think. You and your little boyfriend have caused so much trouble for us." Cyrus cackled once more. "But it ends here. Once I get my world…"

"You won't get anything." Kyle retorted, throwing out Scizor.

"Have it your way." Cyrus released a Crobat onto the field.

I tried to pay attention to the battle, but I couldn't help but look up to the tortured pokemon. The pink one, Palkia, looked ready to give up at any moment.

"Kiaaaaa!" It cried, lowering to the ground.

I now looked to Dialga, who still seemed to have some strength left. I wondered just what its advantage was. It turned, revealing a large glistening gem on its shoulder. It looked like a huge diamond! I now turned to Palkia. Its shoulder had an empty round slot on it. It looked just the right shape for a giant pearl…

I reached into my bag, pulling out the lusterous orb. Palkia laid lifeless on the ground. I knew somehow that if I didn't do something, it would die. I looked back to Kyle. The battle he was having with Cyrus didn't look good. They were both down to their last pokemon already. Arcanine stood weakly, still exhausted, but fighting Cyrus's Gyarados with all his might. As I walked closer to Palkia, orb in tow, I saw it open its eyes to slits, glaring at me. I climbed up onto its arm and slowly inserted the orb into place.

"Kyaaa…" Palkia suddenly threw me aside with its arm, flinging me into a rock like a doll. "Kiiiiiia!" It looked fairly renewed, and flew headfirst into the Galactic airship. With a mighty slash, it knocked the weapon off the ship, as well as one of the wings. The ship hovered unsteadily in the air.

"Shonna!" Kyle ran to me. Apparently he'd beat Cyrus, but just barely. Both of their pokemon were called back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I pulled myself up, holding one arm. "Just a few bruises." I hoped.

"You idiots!" Cyrus watched angrily as his ship was forced to retreat into the distance. "Now they won't listen to anyone! They'll just keep fighting like this forever!"

I watched regretfully as Palkia turned back to Dialga, initiating the fight once more.

"But…" Cyrus grinned manically. "There's still a way." He pulled a round, purple pokeball from his pocket. "I'll just have to take one now, and get the other later."

"No!" I ran for him, taking him by surprise. I tackled into him with everything I had, knocking him backwards. The master ball flew from his hand, bouncing down the mountain.

"Fool!" Cyrus screamed, shoving me away. "You'll pay for that! Now everyone will have to put up with this pitiful excuse for a world. I was going to create a wonderful new one with no useless and petty emotions or spirit! You ruined it!"

"What good would it have done you Cyrus?" I got up unsteadily. "You abandoned your dear friends you were going to share it with."

"I don't need anyone." Cyrus spat. "I'd be the ruler, a deity!"

"No man, nor pokemon can do such a thing." Kyle argued. "Get it through your thick skull! It may or may not have the power to create worlds, but if you think they would obey you, you're crazy! These kinds of pokemon only act in accordance to their own wishes."

"Shut up!" Cyrus stood, and his face full of rage, turned ashen as he looked behind us. I turned, to see something forming behind Palkia and Dialga's battle. It was something black and insidious. Purple sparks erupted from the hole in space, and a pair of glowing eyes flashed in the lightening.

"Oh there's just no way." I slumped my shoulders, feeling defeated. Wind ripped through the air, knocking us all backwards, then suddenly, lurching us forward. It was sucking us in. "Kyle!" I grabbed onto his hand as he wrapped one arm around one of the broken columns.

"Agh! No!" Cyrus clawed at the ground, but was dragged into the dark void. I watched helplessly as the still slightly weaker Palkia, was pulled in as well. Dialga struggled against the wind, and somehow, escaped into the night air.

The vortex picked up, and I struggled to keep hold of Kyle's hand. I was being blown around like a ragdoll in the air.

"Hang on!" He cried. "I'll pull you in!" With only one arm, I couldn't decide how he was going to do this.

A beam came from the bag around my shoulder, and I pleaded in my head for it not to be true, but there stood Lucario, looking stunned.

"Lucario! Get back in there!" I screamed, as pebbles begin hitting my face. "It's too dangerous!"

He didn't say anything, but he had a frantic look on his face as he grabbed hold of Kyle and began pulling me back. Something caught his eye about half way through, and I heard him mutter. _"Oh no."_ I looked up a bit to see one of the pillars cracking and uprooting from its base behind us. It floated in the wind for a bit, and my eyes widened as it flew toward me. Lucario let go of Kyle, and jumped in front of it, snapping it in half with a firm kick. The pieces barely missed me, but one of them hit Lucario hard. He flew backward, into the black hole behind me.

"Lucario!" I screamed. "Lucario!" Tears flew out of my eyes, as my purse, with all my other pokeballs, broke off its strap and floated away as well.

"Shonna! It's okay! Just hang on!" Kyle pleaded.

I looked back at Kyle's handsome face, so full of distraught. I didn't want him to suffer the same fate. And my pokemon, I knew I had to be with them. "I love you Kyle, I'm sorry for this!" I didn't stop to think about it before releasing my grip on his hand.

"No Shonna! Don't do it!" He screamed at me, but it was too late. I floated back, into the swirling darkness. "Shonna…" Kyle sighed. "You know I'd go to the ends of this earth for you…" He loosened his grip on the column he was holding onto. "And even beyond that."


	30. The Distortion World!

**x-x-x**

Episode 29: The Distortion World!

I woke, feeling sore all over. I was face first in some purple dirt. I sat up, and looked around in amazement. This place, looked like the Mt. Coronet we'd been at before, but it was strange. The ground twisted and turned like a fun house. I felt dizzy just looking at it. I couldn't see any of this very well though. My glasses were dirty, coated in the red-violet clay. I took them off and dipped them in a nearby pond of dark water, and wiped them off on my pant leg. Putting them back on, I could see how truly eerie this world was. This place really was a sight, but I didn't have time to look around. I stood up, walking slowly down an embankment. I slid on the dusty dirt, and struggled to stand upright.

It's a good thing I stopped sliding when I did. As I peeked over the edge of the cliff, I could see a vast nothingness. There was no telling how deep it was, but I knew I did not want to fall into it. Something was making flashes and growling toward the bottom of the pit, but I couldn't tell what.

Just then, a floating island glided below the one I was resting on. It was much larger, and just as it was about to float away, I saw my purse resting on its ground. A few pokeballs were littered around it.

"No wait!" I cried, trying to reach out for island. It floated slowly downwards now, into the abyss. "I hate this so much." I said as I ran back up the embankment and slid down it like a slide. I closed my eyes as I hit the ground below hard. I crawled over to my bag, reaching for the pokeballs. "Grotle, Luxray, and Rapidash are all here." I peered inside my tote bag, "Lucario's pokeball is here." I looked around me. "But no Lucario. And where's Staraptor?" I stuffed everything away in my purse, but the strap was still broken on it, so I held it in my arms, walking around the area. "Staraptor's pokeball couldn't have gotten too far." I whispered.

I explored this new area thoroughly, but there was no sign of either of them. After crossing to the edge, some strange bouncy platforms appeared in front of me, forming a staircase of sorts, down to a new area. "Sure. Why not?" I took a deep breath and walked unsteadily across them. It went well at first, then I started getting clumsy, and I found myself racing down them by the end of it. By some miracle, I didn't fall off, but I did trip upon hitting the long narrow island in front of me. There were lots of trees on this island. They looked like a cross breed between evergreens and giant sunflowers. Through the thickets, I could see a shadowy figure. _Lucario!_ I called out to him in my thoughts, and ran toward him. I stopped soon, when I realized it wasn't him.

Cyrus had his back to me. He hadn't noticed me yet. He stood there, staring at something in his hand. I followed his gaze to see the pokeball there. It was Staraptor's!

_Shoot!_ I thought to myself. _What can I do? I really don't want to deal with him right now, but Staraptor is in his clutches! I have to rescue her!_ A light bulb went off in my head as I pulled out Luxray's pokeball and tossed it to the ground.

"Lux?" Luxray looked around at his surroundings.

"Shh!" I hushed him, pointing over my shoulder to Cyrus and whispering. "Use Thief Luxray."

Luxray grinned, hunkering to the ground as he moved through the bushes like a lion stalking his prey. With him being so much bigger, I wondered how he would pull this off. Luxray just kept creeping closer. He got right up behind Cyrus, and flicked his tail to the back of his ankle.

"Huh?" Cyrus jerked his head around, but by now, Luxray was already at his front and had the pokeball in his jaws. He darted back around to Cyrus's back, just as he turned to see his empty hand. "What the?" Luxray now ran through the thick underbrush, snapping some twigs as he dropped the pokeball into my hands. Cyrus turned to us, and though we were hidden in the dark of the trees, he approached.

"Oh no." I whispered, tossing the pokeball in my purse. I was ready to run, but Luxray pushed me down with his paws and held firm.

"Who's there?" Cyrus came even closer. I could see his feet from the shrub I was knelt behind.

"Rrrrrrr…." Luxray growled a low growl, taking a stance I'd seen Arcanine use before.

"What?" Cyrus stepped back a bit, as Luxray began to raise up. In the darkness, all I could see was his piercing blood red eyes.

"Rrrrrrraaaayyyyyy!" Luxray roared.

"Gah!" Cyrus jumped back, and ran full force in the other direction. It was sad, but maybe there was a part of him that was human. For as much as he hated emotions, he knew fear.

"Lux?" Luxray looked to me curiously.

I ruffled the fur on his head. "You are kind of scary when you do that, but it was pretty cool."

"Lux!" Luxray licked my forehead, and lowered down to the ground.

"Hmm? You want me to ride you for a while?" I climbed up onto his back, whenever he nodded. "I guess you're right. It's probably better than my pitiful attempt to get around in here." He stood up on his powerful paws, and started walking for the other end of this bizarre forest. As he trotted along, I picked black leaves out of my hair.

"Lux." Luxray stopped before an odd pedestal that floated nearby.

"Umm… go ahead and get on it I guess." I said unsurely.

Luxray placed all four paws on it, and for a second, nothing happened, then, we began plummeting.

"Eeeiieeee!" I screamed, clinging to Luxray. Just as suddenly as it began, the pedestal pulled to a stop. "Oh great. Just scare the living daylights out of me for nothing why don't you! I don't like you any way, you stupid whacked out world!"

A grumbling erupted through the chasm as Luxray hopped to a new island. We looked around, not seeing anything. Luxray moved up a couple of paces, when a wind nearly knocked us over. I looked over to see Giratina flying high above us. Palkia was hot on its tail, and the two shot beams of light at each other. Luxray quickly dodged as one of them hit our island, slicing a small chunk of it off. The two beasts roared, then flew back downward.

"That was close." I pat Luxray's head. "I can't believe it though! Now those two are fighting?" I sighed. "Oh well. Let's keep looking for Lucario."

"_I'm right here you know."_ A familiar voice said from above me. High up, in one of the tall dark flower tree things, sat Lucario.

"Lucario!" I was so happy to see he was safe. "Get down here! We've gotta try and figure out how to get out of here now!"

"_Really?"_ Lucario grinned. _"You planning on leaving your boyfriend here then?"_

"What?" I stared at him blankly. "What are you talking about?"

"_I picked up on his aura signature a while ago. He's down there."_ He pointed to just down and to the right_. "Problem is, I can't find any way to get over to it. So I thought, maybe with this tree…"_

"Kyle? Kyle!" I jumped off Luxray and ran to the end of the island. I could see him down there. He was laying on his back, motionless. "Kyle!"

"_And now she's not listening to me."_ Lucario slid down from the tree, and turned to Luxray, who shrugged. _"Hmm… I have an idea."_ Lucario ran up to me, grabbing my purse, and digging his paws through it.

"What are you doing?" I asked, still glancing over at Kyle every few seconds.

"_Relax mom. He's not dead or I wouldn't have been able to sense him."_ Lucario pulled out a TM and handed me back my purse. _"And to answer your question, I'm getting us over there. Remember this?"_

In his hands, was an Iron Tail TM I'd bought for Lucario a long time ago. When I bought it, he told me he didn't want it. "You finally want it after all?"

"_Nope. Not for me."_ Lucario pointed over his shoulder_. "For him."_

Luxray looked back at me confused. I felt the same way. Lucario placed the TM in front of him. "Lux?"

"_Just press the button on it."_ Lucario grinned.

I nudged Lucario. "Isn't that my job? To teach my pokemon moves?"

"_You're too slow."_ Lucario looked like he'd regretted it when he said it, but he laughed.

"Hey! Lucario!" I whined. "I am not."

"Lux?" Luxray stared at the tiny machine oddly, before pressing the bright red button on it. A light burst out, and surrounded his tail. It shown brightly like a hunk of metal.

"_Perfect."_ Lucario smiled. _"Now go slice that tree at the base Luxray."_

"This really isn't fair." I sulked. "Now you're issuing commands too?"

Luxray walked up to the tallest tree, and waved his metallic tail around. It sliced right through it.

"_You might want to move."_ Lucario grabbed me and jumped away, dodging the falling tree as it struck the ground near us_. "One more thing Luxray. You think you could push it over to the other island?"_

"Lux!" Luxray looked proud as he pushed his head against the trunk, running the tree right over the edge, and I watched as the opposite end landed exactly on the island Kyle was at.

"I don't know what I'd do without you guys." I said softly.

"_We know."_ Lucario grinned_. "Now, big guy here's a bit too big to cross these narrow trees. Think you could recall him?"_

"Yes." I grumbled, pulling out Luxray's pokeball and zapping him inside. "I can do that."

Lucario chuckled again as he moved agilely down the tree. _"C'mon mom!"_

"Are you kidding me right now?" I looked down at the narrow tree. "I can't cross that! You're like, all lithe and stuff, so you can, but I'm clumsy you know."

"_I know, but surely you can make it down here for your man!"_ He made a kissy face at me and laughed.

He was having way too much fun here. I hadn't seen him act this silly since he was a riolu. Perhaps this weird world was getting to him. I smiled, stepping onto the tree trunk. For as much as I hated it, he was right. I had to get down there, for Kyle.

I took one step and nearly fell. "I can't do it!" I whined.

"_Oh c'mon."_ Lucario walked back up the tree. _"Fine, I'll help."_

"No!" I yelled. "I can do this!" I stood up straight, and pretended I was a tightrope walker. _Just one with no net, and a bottomless pit underneath._ I thought to myself._ That's real pleasant._

I shook it off, and smiled when I realized I was halfway there. Lucario remained close by in case I fell. I think I surprised him when I made it all the way to the end with no help at all. I grinned inwardly, but ran to Kyle's side. He looked unconscious.

"Kyle!" I shook his shoulder. "Kyle! Are you okay?"

"Nope." I heard him grumble. "Need… CPR."

"You idiot!" I slapped his arm. "This is no time for jokes."

Kyle raised up, looking around. "Nice place. Has a sort of evil feel to it."

"Sure does." I stood up, helping him up. "We have to get out of here." I looked up to the swirling daylight high above us. "I know! We could fly up there!" I pulled out Staraptor's pokeball. When I did, I felt a bit silly for crossing the makeshift bridge on foot, when Staraptor could have just flew me over. Lucario snickered at me. I recalled him, rolling my eyes.

"Mind if I hitch a ride then?" Kyle asked. "Skarmory got really banged up in the fight with Cyrus."

"Oh. Yeah, no problem." I threw out Staraptor, who fluffed out her feathers, as if she were stiff.

"Star!" She stretched.

"Should be enough room." I hopped on her back, scooting forward as Kyle climbed on.

"Star…" Staraptor showed her dislike of the extra weight, but slowly flapped her wings and took off for the hole. Even somewhat slower, we were almost there in no time. I grinned, seeing the bright light from the exit.

"Giiirrrrrraaaaa!" Suddenly Giratina slithered in front of us. Staraptor pulled to an abrupt stop, and tried to move around the monster, but he kept blocking our way. I looked down to see Palkia flying toward us.

"Kiiaaaaa!" Palkia roared, and a massive beam appeared at its throat. Looking back up, I could see Giratina do the same.

"No no!" I held my hands up helplessly. "Don't fight here!" This of course, was all in vain. Giratina and Palkia both let loose a hyper beam at each other, and Staraptor swiftly flew away. I thought for a minute we were safe, but when Palkia turned to shoot another beam at the dodging Giratina, this time Staraptor didn't escape unscathed. The beam struck her right wing hard, and I could see some feathers fly from it. "Staraptor!"

"Sta…arr!" Staraptor plummeted. Kyle grabbed hold of me, and I held tight to Staraptor as she cried and fell toward a nearby floating island. We crash landed, and dirt flew up as Staraptor skidded across the ground. As we came to a stop, she kept wailing. "Star! Raptor!"

Kyle and I jumped off her. "Kyle! Do you have any potions in your bookbag?" I started digging through it, before he could even answer.

"I had to use a lot of it earlier, but there might be some left." He looked down at Staraptor sadly.

"Found some." I pulled the spray bottle out and ran to Staraptor's side.

"Star…" Staraptor cringed.

"This will help take some of the pain away." I sprayed the potion heavily on her wing, though only a quarter of the bottle remained. "Oh Staraptor." Once she quieted down, I felt around on her wing. "This isn't good." When she tensed up, I stopped touching her. "It could be broke again."

"That's awful." Kyle bent down, stroking Staraptor's head.

"Star!" Staraptor attempted to stand up, but collapsed again.

"No. Staraptor don't." I pulled out her pokeball. "We'll be fine. You take a rest." She was too weak to resist as she returned into the red pokeball. I sighed. "Now what do we do Kyle?"

He sighed. "Well, there's a nice tree up there. I could chop it down and start working on a house."

"Are you serious?" I stepped back. "Us, live here? Like, as in forever?"

"Do you have any other ideas?" Kyle looked up to the gaping hole miles above us. "Even Rapidash can't bounce that high right?"

I looked up at the slowly closing rift. Palkia and Giratina continued to fight around it. "Will we ever get out of here?" I whispered.

With a growl, Giratina unleashed a powerful and dark looking move on Palkia. It nearly swallowed it whole. Palkia roared, as it began falling in defeat. Honestly, considering how long it had also fought with Dialga, I didn't know how it had lasted this long. I pondered on all this, staring at the majestic creature, then gasped, when I realized it was headed right for us.

"Shonna! Look out!" Kyle cried, pulling me backwards. We started to run, but there was really nowhere to escape to. We were on a tiny island, surrounded by nothingness. He held me in his arms as Palkia came crashing into our hunk of land. It shook the ground like an earthquake, and we both fell to our knees. My purse fell out of my arms, and a purple masterball rolled out. The dirt below us had cracks forming in it, going in all different directions, and I wondered if whatever strange force of gravity was holding us afloat, might give out at any minute. I looked up to Palkia, who was just about twenty feet away, laying on the ground, looking defeated.

"Haha, Hahaha!" A cackle erupted behind us. A laugh I recognized as Cyrus.

"Cyrus!" Kyle stood. "What are you doing here? Can't you just go sulk somewhere?"

"No need." He stepped out of the shadows, facing Kyle. "I've already got what I wanted."

I quickly scooped up the fallen masterball. I didn't want him to know I had the other one to his set.

"Care to explain?" Kyle put one hand on his hip, acting fed up.

"This creature, this deity." Cyrus looked up to Giratina. "It really is something, to have created an opposite end to our world like this. With it, I'm sure I can get what I want."

I stood, slowly making my way to Palkia. The monster had its eyes closed, but when I approached, they snapped open. I felt so small beside this beast, but I softly touched one of its claws. "Palkia. I helped you earlier, by giving you your orb back. Now, I need your help."

Palkia's red eyes darted as it watched me.

Cyrus continued his rant. "It's so powerful! With this pokemon, I can rule this world, and I can destroy the old one! It will be so perfect!"

"You're a fool!" Kyle shouted. "Giratina opened up this portal to trap us here. It knows you were causing friction in the time-space continuum. It's not going to help you! Can't you see these pokemon only act for themselves? It's never going to do your bidding!"

I stroked one of Palkia's claws, spraying whatever potion was left from our bottle on it. Palkia showed no sign that it had helped, but I wanted to show it I cared.

"Kiaaa…" Palkia groaned softly.

"This may not be the best idea for either of us," I whispered. "But, here goes." I tossed the masterball to its arm, and a light sucked it inside. I caught the ball and watched it wiggle in my hands. Now, I'd caught both Cyrus and Kyle's attention, and they stared at me with disbelief. The ball bobbled in my hands once, twice, and clicked shut with a third.

"How?" Cyrus ran up to me. "There's no way! Not without a…" He stopped, staring at the purple masterball in my hand. "Oh you little wench! You tricked me! I could have had one of the legendaries a long time ago!" Cyrus grabbed me by the wrist. "Give it to me!"

"Let go of her!" Kyle punched him across the face, knocking him back a bit. I held firm to the masterball.

"I will have my world!" Cyrus charged for us again. I looked up suddenly to Giratina, who had been watching us this whole time. It growled, before lunging for us. It smashed into the island, shattering it into pieces. Kyle grabbed onto me, and we all started falling. If there was ever a time, I knew it was now. I pressed the button on the masterball.

"Palkia!" I screamed. "Help us!"

The pink monster spread its wings, diving down below us. We landed on its back. I could see Giratina chasing Cyrus down the pit.

"Help!" He cried, but before we could do anything, Giratina growled out a hyper beam at him. I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch.

When I opened them again, Giratina was in front of us, glaring. Palkia growled at it.

"No! Don't fight!" I screamed. "Giratina! We're not with him! And I've captured Palkia! I'll make sure it and Dialga never fight again!"

Giratina looked skeptical. It glared at me, then suddenly looked up. The hole above us, was closing fast.

"Giratina's testing you." Kyle muttered. "To see if you really can train Palkia." I could hear the skepticism even in his voice.

"Palkia!" I pat one of its massive shoulders. "Let's go."

"Kyaaaa!" Palkia growled, forming a hyper beam in its throat, aimed right for Giratina.

"Palkia! Go!" I screamed, watching the hole close up further.

"Errrr..." Palkia growled, seeming annoyed. The beam in its mouth slowly fizzled out. "Kaa." It snorted, before flying up into the sky like a bullet. I closed my eyes and had to hold on tight to my belongings, and my boyfriend. We moved up the chasm so fast. Then, a brightness flooded around us. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust as Palkia stood on the ground we landed on. I watched in awe as the hole closed up behind us, and amazingly, we'd made it out in a nick of time. We rolled off Palkia's back with a thud, making dust and dirt fly up into the air. But it was brown dust, and there were green trees! I ran up and hugged Palkia immediately.

"Thank you so much Palkia! You're the greatest!" I hugged its leg, though my arms wouldn't stretch around it at all.

"I can't believe it. You actually got it to listen to you!" Kyle was still on the ground, watching us.

"Kia…" Palkia glared at me, before flicking me away with its tail. I went flying into a rock, reminding me of all the bruises I still had before.

"Shonna!" Kyle ran to me.

"Ouch." I stood up weakly. "Guess it won't be giving us a ride out of here." I reached for the master ball and sealed it inside. "Sorry Kyle."

"Why are you apologizing?" Kyle wiped some dirt away from my face. "You were great! You got us out of there, and you caught a legendary pokemon! That takes real skill."

I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder, and nuzzling it into his neck. Even though I was exhausted, I was so happy to be out of that awful, distorted world.


	31. Snow Way Out!

**x-x-x**

Episode 30: Snow Way Out!

Mars had been watching the churning vortex for hours. By now Saturn and Jupiter were off playing cards at the ship or something, but she was waiting. Whenever Cyrus emerged from that black hole, she'd be the one getting a promotion.

"Really Mars? You're still here?" Jupiter came up behind her, making her jump slightly. "Saturn and I are getting worried."

"Well you all can just keep doing whatever you're doing. I'm waiting." Mars kept her gaze fixed at the portal.

"Saturn's on his way back up here anyway, but guess what! We think we've got the ship repaired. With one of the wings gone, it won't fly, but we got it to drive." Jupiter smiled.

"That's great." Mars said in a nonchalant way.

"You'd think you'd be more excited." Saturn approached them, brushing a hand through his thick blue hair. "It means you can have air conditioning, and your little manicure machine…"

"Shut up Saturn." They were annoying her. They all used to be friends, but now they just got on her nerves.

"Leave her alone Saturn." Jupiter glared at him. "She's just depressed that Cyrus isn't coming back out."

"He will come back out!" Mars screamed. "Do you two honestly believe those kids could beat Cyrus?"

"Sure." Jupiter said slyly. "They beat us bad enough. And they've been talking about them a lot on tv lately. They say that when they're together, they never lose a battle."

"I've never had the pleasure of fighting them." Saturn sneered. "But you two certainly made it sound fun."

"Get down!" Mars pulled them both down behind a rock. Something was happening. The portal was closing at a rapid speed. A gush of wind blew back a bit of Mars's super hair-sprayed hair, as the pink beast flew out of the hole. Something was on its back. "Cyrus!" Mars grinned. "I just know it's Cyrus!" Her smile turned to a frown as she watched the couple slide off the beast's back. "No," She whispered. "That's not possible." The rift closed, leaving without a trace. She watched as the big monster shoved the girl, and she recalled it. Mars crept a bit closer, hiding behind a broken column to hear.

They hugged, and she heard the blonde speak up. "What do you think happened to Cyrus? Did Giratina kill him?"

The pokemon master, Kyle held her closer in his arms. "Whatever happened to him, he's not going to be coming back to this accursed world he hated so much. Not any time soon, that's for sure."

"Still," The girl clung to him like a lost puppy. "It's sad. I wanted to be able to help him too."

"You can't help people like him Shonna." Kyle pulled away. "They're just too far gone."

"I know." She stepped away. "You're right. I guess we should just focus on getting to a pokemon center. All our pokemon are really bad off." She walked down the mountainside, with Kyle following close behind.

"Now's your chance Saturn!" Mars hissed. "Their pokemon are weak! Go fight them!"

"What for?" Saturn stood, turning his back.

"For Team Galactic of course!" Mars watched as Jupiter stood as well.

"Team Galactic's finished." Saturn smiled. "We're free."

"What?"

Jupiter smiled cheerfully at Mars. "Think about it Mars! All the grunts, and Pluto are arrested, Cyrus is dead, and we're free to do as we please!"

"Free?" Mars sat on the rock she'd been hiding behind.

"Yes Mars." Saturn walked away, headed toward the ship. "We're free."

"Come with us Mars." Jupiter held a hand out. "Let's go together. We can be whatever we want to be now."

Mars smacked her hand away. "Go ahead. I'm staying here."

"What?" Jupiter stared at her strangely. "Why?"

"I'll hitch a ride somewhere else." Mars said coldly. "Go away."

Jupiter sighed, before turning away. "Fine Mars. Have a good life." She took off after Saturn down the trail.

Mars just sat there for a long time. Thinking about what to do next. Cyrus had picked her up when she was young. An orphan. She didn't have anything else, and didn't know anything else but this. She kicked a pebble in frustration, watching it fall off the cliff. It struck something, making a clanging sound. Mars peered over the edge to spy the dirty pokeball. She laced her fingers around it, and wiped one across it. Beneath the layer of dust, was purple, and a small "M" symbol. Mars then pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number. The man's voice scared her once more, but she put that behind her.

"Yes. This is Mars. You remember that plan we talked about? I think it's time we put it into action."

**x-x-x**

We had trekked down the mountain, and found ourselves waist deep in a familiar sight. Snow. But this time, it wasn't a violent snowstorm like before. Amazingly, Sinnoh seemed already affected by Palkia and Dialga's cease of fighting. I wondered if the summers would be hot now. I hadn't seen a hot summer in well over a year.

A snowflake fell on the masterball still in my hand. I couldn't believe I'd captured a legendary. Problem is, I didn't know what to do now. The last thing Palkia acted like it wanted to do, was listen to me.

"There's some things you should know Shonna, about legendaries." Kyle spoke up, surprising me. "First of all, you can't ever put it in the pc system."

"Why not?" I bundled up in my coat, putting the masterball back in my purse.

"Someone could hack into your account, and take it. And if they ever find out you have it, someone will." He looked serious, wrapping his leather jacket tight around him. "Also, it will take a very long time, before Palkia obeys you at all. But if you work hard at it, it will happen."

"I thought you said legendary pokemon only follow their own wishes." I pointed out.

"Well, I think they know the difference between right and wrong." He smiled at me. "I have one too. A legendary."

"What?" I stopped walking.

"I have an Articuno." Kyle admitted. "I caught it back in Kanto, during that brief time we split up before Cinnabar Island."

"And you tell me this now?" I glowered.

"I didn't have much choice." Kyle objected. "Professor Oak made me keep it a secret. And for good reason. The one time I told someone, they tried to steal it away from me."

"What? Really?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"It's okay though." He looked away. "The creep never got it."

"Tell me more." I grabbed his hand as we walked along. "We've got plenty of time."

"Really Shonna, I don't know."

"I promise I won't tell. Kyle, you know that, right?"

"Yes. I know that." He looked sad. "It's just, it's not something I like to think about."

I wrapped my arms around his. "Please? I want to know all about you."

"Fine. I'll tell you." He looked ahead, to the town looming in the distance. "When you went to Cinnabar, I ended up on the Seafoam Islands, where I met Misty again."

I let go of his arm. "Not sure I'm liking this so far."

Kyle laughed. "You know how I feel about her."

"Yeah." I relaxed. "That she's a hooker?"

"Or at least dresses the part." He cringed.

"Go on." I insisted, annoyed with this.

"Anyway, she was there training when we heard the commotion. In one of the caverns, Team Rocket was plotting. There we found one of the head honchos in the middle of trying to capture an Articuno."

"Was it Giovanni?" I questioned.

"No. It wasn't Giovanni, but it was some sort of higher up. This guy reminded me of Cyrus. He wasn't going to give up on his dream even if it took his life. In the end, it did."

I gasped. "What happened?"

"Articuno called out for me to save it. It may sound crazy, but I knew it wanted me to help. I intervened, and the guy pulled out his other legendary birds, Zapdos and Moltres. He had them under his control using a machine. I managed to get it off them, and capture Articuno in the process. Unfortunately, we'd stirred things up so much the cave collapsed. There was no way to save the rocket members. They all died, including the leader. Actually, I barely made it out of there myself."

"Kyle!" I hugged him tight. _Just to think, while I was having fun in Cinnabar, he could have died! I would have never seen him again._ Tears began to well up in my eyes thinking about it.

"Hey! I'm okay!" He lifted up my chin to look at me, kissing a tear away. "Don't cry."

I smiled sadly. "You're so nice. So good Kyle." I wiped at some other tears. "Why I even left your side for a second, I'll never know."

A sullen look washed over him. "When you headed home that day back in Kanto, it hit me hard. I was a wreck for the longest time. And I never really got over you. It made things too easy. Even with all the precautions I took, one of those sneaky rockets took advantage of that vulnerability and managed to steal a lot of my pokemon from me."

My eyes widened. "Did you ever get them back?"

"Most yes." He sighed. "One, sadly I wasn't able to."

"That's terrible!" I cried, and a strong wind made me shiver. I looked over to Snowpoint City, which was very close now. "Is there any way we can get it back?"

"No Shonna. There's not. He's dead. But even if he were alive, I wouldn't want you going anywhere near him. Because that guy wanted to take more than my pokemon. He wanted to take my life." Kyle looked ahead as we walked toward the city gates. He didn't speak another word about it.

**x-x-x**

We both were exhausted as we trudged into the pokemon center at Snowpoint City. We must have looked pretty bad too, because as soon as Nurse Joy saw us, she rushed around the counter to greet us.

"Nurse Joy…" I weakly flopped my broken purse into her arms. "Please heal my pokemon. They're in bad shape."

"Mine too please." Kyle pulled each one off his belt, and the one around his neck, and sat it on the armful.

"Oh okay." Joy handed them to a Chansey, who was ready for work and hustled off for the healing machine. "But really, both of you don't look like you're doing so well yourselves. We get a lot of trainers coming from different areas, and they come here close to frostbitten. Where did you two come in from?"

"The summit of Mt. Coronet." Kyle said, leaning against a bench.

"What?" Joy stepped back in surprise. "That's impossible! No one's been up there in years! And to make that kind of trek... I don't believe it!"

"It's true." I nearly fell over while saying this.

"Wait a second. I didn't recognize you for a minute, with all the bruises and scrapes, but are you the famous pokemon trainers? The one's on tv?" Joy stared at us before rushing for a key. She placed it in Kyle's palm. "Go rest. If anything goes wrong with your pokemon I'll call you."

"Thanks Joy." I leaned against Kyle's shoulder as we walked down the hallway, finding our number. Kyle opened the door with a twist of the key, and I felt relieved to see the white bunk beds before us. Kyle threw his book bag down and closed the door behind us as I flopped into my normal, bottom bunk. I saw Kyle try to climb the puny ladder to the top, but he fell into my bed. He sank into the spot beside me, and my heart raced as he stared back at me.

"Sorry Shonna." He whispered, his eyes heavy. "Do you mind if I just rest here for a while?"

"No." I scooted back a bit. "I don't mind."

He smiled, closing his eyes slowly_. Could he already be asleep? Yes, I suppose so, because I felt like I could._ I slowly wriggled a bit closer, taking the one sheet on the bed and wrapping it around us. My heart pounded again. There was no doubt I was attracted to this man, even with as tired as I was. But, I couldn't ask him to move now. I watched his chest move in and out softly as he breathed. His lips were partly just slightly.

I leaned in just enough to kiss them lightly. He didn't even stir. "I love you Kyle Gray." I rolled over quietly, smiling at my secret actions. I closed my eyes, when suddenly, the words Kyle had spoke earlier flooded into my mind.

"_He didn't just want to take my pokemon. He wanted to take my life."_


	32. An Icy Encounter!

**A/N: Warning: The first part of this chapter is a little violent. **

**Also, FF .net decided to eat all my section breaks. This is a HUGE setback for me. I'll be trying out an alternative in this chapter with some much more ugly x's. Unfortunately, this means I'll be going back and editing, much more than I'll be updating.**

**x-x-x**

Episode 31: An Icy Encounter!

The world was black. I expected that though. I was asleep after all. Then I saw flashes of purple, and myself laying on a floating island. I sat up, looking at the floating islands that surrounded me. "No! Not the distortion world again!" I stood up, looking to the sky. There was no hole, no exit. No way out. Instead, dark storm clouds loomed above, swirling in a maddening way. Rain began to pour down in buckets, and lightning erupted around me. "No!" I screamed. I ran, for the other end of this island. I had to get away. I ran through some trees, until a figure emerged on the other side of the forest. Kyle smiled back at me.

"Hello angel." He held out a hand to me.

I brightened, reaching out to him. When a shadow emerged on the other side. He wore a rocket outfit, and a strange mask. It sort of resembled that of a kitsune's face. The man had a sinister smile showing through it. A small pistol emerged from behind his back.

"Kyle!" I screamed. "Look out! Behind you!"

Kyle turned to the man, and shoved me away. A shot rang out at the same time as a bolt of lightning struck, almost drowning it out. Kyle held a hand to his chest, as a red stain grew in that spot. He collapsed into my arms, and as I held him there, blood spilled out, pooling onto my clothes. Tears streamed down, but I was silent, holding Kyle's lifeless body. A click went off next to my ear, and I turned my head to the masked man. The gun was now turned to me, touching my forehead.

"What a pity." The evil voice made chills run down my spine. "I was aiming for you. For him, seeing you die would have been so much worse than his own death."

"W-why?" I muttered out.

"For revenge." I watched helplessly as he pulled back the trigger, and everything went black, all over again.

**x-x-x**

"No! No please!" I screamed, squirming around. I couldn't move at all. Something was holding me down!

"Shonna! Shonna!" I awoke to see Kyle in the bed beside me, holding me close to his body. "It's okay angel! It was just a nightmare."

I laid still, breathing hard, with my eyes open wide. I looked down to our clothes. No blood stains. I looked back to Kyle's eyes, which held concern. "Kyle. Oh Kyle!" I wrapped my arms around him. "It was the worst dream ever."

"It's okay." He weaved one hand into my thick hair. "It's over now."

I tried to calm down. And it was working, being pressed against Kyle's chest. _Kyle's chest without a bullet hole in it. _I shuttered.

"Shush." Kyle whispered softly. "It's okay."

"I'm so glad you're alive." I held my eyes closed tight as I nuzzled into his neck.

"Is that what you dreamed?" He moved back a little. "That I died?"

"You were… murdered."

Kyle stared deep into my eyes. "I'm so sorry, if what I said yesterday caused it…"

I pressed my lips against his hard, placing my hands on his cheeks, before slowly pulling away from him. "It's okay. I'm just glad I have you."

"Wow." I heard him mumble. He looked taken back by the kiss. "Are you okay now though? Need to talk about it?"

"No." I backed up a bit, starting to realize just how close we were, and feeling a bit embarrassed.

"How did I get down here anyway?" Kyle scratched his head. "I was so tired. I don't really remember much of last night."

I giggled. "Don't worry about it." He stared at me with a big grin. "But don't get used to it either Kyle."

"Ah shucks." He chuckled, flipping over to lay on his back, letting one arm sprawl out toward me. "Well then, how about just for today?"

I blushed. _Well, why not?_ I slowly wriggled my way to his side, laying my head on his chest, as he wrapped one arm protectively over me.

"This is nice." I whispered.

"Yeah it is." Kyle closed his eyes. "I like holding you like this."

I blushed, yet again. We remained quiet like that for a few minutes.

The phone rang. Kyle sighed, before rolling over to reach for the phone beside the bed. "Yes? Yes Nurse Joy?...I understand. We'll be there as soon as we can. Yes, thank you." He put the phone back on its base. "That was Nurse Joy. She said we need to get in there. She needs to talk to us about our pokemon."

I sat up, almost forgetting that we'd fallen asleep in our clothes last night. We both left our things in the room and locked the door behind us. As we walked down the hallway, I looked down at my poketch to try and check the time. It was still froze at two in the morning, and I made a mental note to have it repaired sometime.

When we got to the waiting room, Joy was waiting for us, and she looked distraught. Before speaking, she handed back my purse, and all of Kyle's pokeballs. She held one in her hand, which I recognized as Staraptor's. Pressing the button, Staraptor stood looking tired, with a large splint over her right wing. I reached down to pet her head.

"Star." She cooed.

"It's not broke." Joy spoke up. "But it did take some heavy damage. The splint's to keep her from moving it around very much. I'm afraid you shouldn't battle with her for at least a little while."

"That's fine." I looked back down to Staraptor. "I understand. The next gym's an ice gym, so I wasn't planning to anyway. But yes, I'll make sure she just works on healing up that wing."

"Star." Staraptor seemed disappointed, but I think she understood. She rubbed her head against my stomach as I brushed my fingers through the thick feathers on her head.

"I'm sorry you got hurt Staraptor." I reached for her pokeball, pressing the button. "You get better now." In a flash of light, she was back inside, and I stuffed the ball back in my purse.

"All the rest of them will be fine, but there is one thing." Joy still looked glum. "I noticed while I was working, that one of your pokemon wasn't showing up on my monitor. I had no data on it."

I looked around the center, making sure no one was around to overhear. The center was empty, where it was still early, but I couldn't take any chances. I knew she was talking about Palkia.

"Is it, is it what I think it is?" Joy stuttered.

"Yes." Kyle spoke. "It's a legendary. That's why it wasn't in the database."

"I was afraid of that." Suddenly Joy looked very guilty.

"You can't tell anyone though. It would make us a target for those nasty pokemon collectors!" I blurted out.

"I didn't." Joy hung her head. "But I did, before I knew about it, call the reporters."

"You did what?" Kyle yelled angrily.

"I'm so sorry! I promise I didn't mean to endanger you two." Joy sulked.

"Then why Joy?" I questioned.

She looked very guilty now. "Jubilife TV station is actually offering a reward for any leads on where you two are. That one interview with the pokemon master must have got them a lot of ratings."

"Well this is just great." Kyle said sarcastically. "How soon will they be here?"

"Not sure." Joy looked toward the door. "But just go back to your room and stay there. I'll tell them you've moved on and you're not here. I'm truly very sorry for this."

I glared at this Joy, wishing she were more like the one back at my hometown. _She would have never done this. Then again, I guess everyone's different. And now, she expected us to stay holed up in our room all day while she leads the reporters right to us? I don't think so._ I opened my mouth to speak, when Kyle grabbed my hand.

"Thank you Joy. We'll do that." He turned to me. "Let's go Shonna."

"But I!"

He squeezed my hand tighter. "Come on."

I clamped my mouth shut as we headed back down the hallway. Kyle unlocked the door, and locked it back once we were inside.

"Kyle!" I yelled. "Are we really going to trust this Nurse Joy? You really think she'll keep her word?"

"Not at all." He grabbed his bag and walked over to the room's only window. "I hate to send you back out into the cold, but we should get out of here for the day." He lifted up the window, letting the cold wind in. I squinted as it hit my face.

"Where are we going? To the gym?" I asked.

"No. After they find out we're not here, that will be the next place they check." He threw one leg out the window, then the other, making me glad this pokecenter only had one floor. He reached out a hand to me, helping me outside. "You probably know this area better than I do, any ideas angel?"

I blushed as Kyle closed the window behind me. It was either from the cold, or the use of my pet name. "Well, let's see. It's been a while since I've been here myself. Not since I was attending the pokemon school I believe." I bundled up in my coat. "How about we go out to the lake and do some training? It's more than likely that no one will be there. It's all frozen over this time of year."

"Lake Acuity right?" Kyle held tight to my hand again. "That sounds good. I could use some training before the gym battle. It's been a while after all."

I gasped. "Kyle! You haven't fought this gym?"

"Nope." He laughed, as I led him up the hill toward the lake. "I haven't tried this one yet, or the one back in Sunyshore."

"Oh wow." I followed the signs up the snowy trail. If I remembered correctly, the lake was still a fair piece away from our location. "So we only have two left then."

"Kyle looked at me strangely. "You know you're forgetting one right?"

"What?"

"You're forgetting one." He dug his trainer's case out of a pocket on his coat, and flipped it open, pointing to a shiny round badge. Underneath it read, 'Mine Badge'. "I got this one in Canalave City."

"Canalave?" I imagined a mental map of Sinnoh in my head. "Oh my gosh! You're right! I completely forgot it! I can't believe it! We passed right by it in Jubilife and missed it." I hung my head in disappointment. "That means after this gym, we'll have to head back there."

"Do we have to?" Kyle whined as we passed by another wooden sign for the lake. "We could skip past Jubilife right?"

"Well, I'd really like to stop and have my poketch fixed." I looked ahead to the frozen lake. It was within view now.

"I could try to fix it." Kyle offered. "And the strap on your purse too."

I glanced down to my shabby looking bag. I was still carrying it under my arm ever since it broke on Mt. Coronet. "You're welcome to try Kyle."

He lit up a bit, with a bright smile on his face as he scooped the purse up and plopped down on a rock. He dug out some pliers from his bag and began clamping on the metal clasp. I turned to the lake again, looking out to a crumbled cavern that sat in the middle_. That must have been Cyrus's doing. Back when he kidnapped the lake guardians and used their power to make the Red Chain. The weapon he used in attempt to control Dialga and Palkia_. I sighed, lost in my thoughts. _There are so many legends surrounding Sinnoh's pokemon, it's hard to keep track. Whatever the case, I'm happy we were able to free the lake guardians from their confines._ I walked a few paces out toward the lake. It was completely empty. Not a soul was out here. Not even any annoying tourists out ice-skating. Looking back to the cave, a wispy shadow appeared at the front. I blinked, rubbing under my glasses. When I looked up again, the shadow was gone.

"I got it fixed!" Kyle called out from behind me.

"Really?" I turned away from the lake, thinking I must be seeing things. "How's it look?"

He handed me the bag. "You tell me."

It did look ten times better. The strap was affixed back, almost exactly like it was before. I tossed it up to my shoulder. It held well. "It works great! Thanks Kyle!" I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

He smiled, holding his pliers up. "No problem! Now let's take a look at that Poketch of yours."

I unfastened the watch from around my wrist, letting it fall into Kyle's hand. "If you can fix that, you really are Mr. Fix It."

"I'll show you." Kyle dug through his book bag for a tiny screwdriver.

"While you're working on that, I'm going to get started training." I lifted grotle's pokeball out and tossed it to the lakeside.

"Grot-le." Grotle yawned, shaking some dead leaves out of the shrubbery on his back.

"Grotle, today we're going to work on perfecting a very powerful attack. An Earthquake attack. Okay?"

"Grotle!" Grotle smiled, looking ready.

"Okay then!" I took my foot and stomped it against the ground. "Try doing that!"

"Grot!" Grotle took one foot, and stomped it against the ground. It was strong, but not enough.

"Hmm…" I got down on all fours, placing my hands in the snow. "Now try this Grotle." I lifted up my hands, and slammed them back down into the snow.

"Grot?" Grotle lifted up his whole front end and slammed it down. I could feel the vibrations through my hands.

"Excellent!" I stood up, and immediately fell back down as a tremor surged through the ground. I stared in awe as Grotle slammed downward again. "Very good Grotle! You can stop now!" I yelled, watching a crack form in the icy lake. "At this rate, you'll have it down in no time."


	33. Hard Training and Hard Evidence!

**A/N: This chapter alternates a couple times between the perspective of me and Kyle, and Jane and Charlie. Because of that, it's very lengthy.**

**x-x-x**

Episode 32: Hard Training and Hard Evidence!

Jane was super excited. No, super duper excited. They hadn't had a lead on Kyle's location for quite some time, and the Jubilife station had even sent her out on it. That promotion was just within reach for her. She could feel it. And now, this nurse joy claimed they were right there in Snowpoint City. She wouldn't have believed her if she hadn't said she'd seen his famed Arcanine on the monitors. Jane could just feel the adrenaline as she drove through the heavy snow.

"Charlie!" She stared over to her snoring, pudgy cameraman in the passenger's seat. "Wake up! We're here."

"Heh? Hmm?" Charlie sat up, adjusting his ball cap. "Oh?"

"Yes. Be getting the equipment ready." Jane pulled the vehicle into park beside the pokemon center. She adjusted her short brown hair in the mirror of the van's visor, before stepping out into the cold. In her normal wool suit jacket and skirt, it was unbearably cold. She shivered, deciding not to wait on Charlie as she bolted inside the warm pokecenter. The Nurse Joy's smile turned sour when she saw her.

"Can I help you?" Joy said, as if she didn't know who they were.

"I'm Jane, from Jubilife News. You called about seeing the three time pokemon master, Kyle Gray?" Jane acted bored as Charlie clumsily carried in all their equipment.

"Yes well you see," Joy smiled. "They left quite a while ago. They're not here now."

Jane stared at Joy blankly. It was obvious this woman was lying through her teeth. "What a pity." She said as she leaned over the counter, checking out the clipboard on the other side, which listed trainers and which room they were staying at. Gray was scribbled as checked in under room 15. There was no check out marked. "Well then, you won't mind if we have a look around your lovely center then, would you Joy?" Jane motioned for Charlie to follow her as she traveled down the hallway of rooms where trainers could board.

"Actually I do!" Joy stuttered as she chased them down, a Chansey diligently followed her, making Charlie eye it wearily. For the life of her, Jane couldn't understand why her cameraman had to have a phobia of pokemon.

Jane stopped at Room 15's door, knocking. No answer of course. "This is Jubilife TV! We'd like to have a few words with you."

Joy stepped in front of the door, blocking it defiantly. "Now see here. You can't come barging in here and bothering the trainers in this center. They'll only talk to you if they want to!"

"And you see here!" Jane pulled the wad of cash from her jacket pocket, waving it in front of Joy's face. "Here's 5000 dollars you won't get a dime of unless you unlock this door right now."

"Chansey!" Chansey balled its fat little arms into fists, walking closer to Charlie. He shrilled in fear, drawing behind Jane. She rolled her eyes at him.

"You know," Jane continued. "This could buy a lot of medicine for the pokemon, or new scrubs for you, or whatever. Just be a good little nurse and let us in there, okay?"

Joy sighed, looking to her Chansey. "Chansey, hand me the spare keys."

"Sey? Sey." Chansey dug a ring full of keys from the pocket on its belly, lifting them into Joy's palm. Joy slowly picked her way through, until she found the 15th one. She turned the lock slowly too, making Jane more and more impatient. As soon as the door opened, Jane shoved her way through.

"Kyle! I need another interv…" She stopped just short when she saw the room was completely empty. Was this another prank lead? She turned to Joy, who looked shocked as well. From the look on her face, she knew they had definitely been here.

"They're not here." Charlie waved his camera around dumbfounded.

"No duh genius." Jane mumbled, before turning back to Joy. "Where are they?"

"As I told you," Joy struggled to look composed. "They've moved on."

"And at the end of the day, you're just a greedy little nurse." Jane flipped through the bills of money. "I'll give you 1000 dollars to tell me where they are. And I want a good answer. Not any of this 'they've moved on' crap."

Joy looked down. "Give me the money first."

"No way!" Jane spat. "Like you're trustworthy enough. Now spill it."

Joy looked as though she was going to give in, but Jane wasn't sure she could trust her answer anyway. And if she gave away the company money for nothing…

"Hey Jane!" Charlie spoke up, smiling. "Do you think they've fought the gym leader here yet? That was fun to watch that girl fight the last one we filmed."

Jane pocketed the money, and turned to Charlie. "Charlie, you're a genius! Of course they'll be at the gym!" Jane shoved Nurse Joy aside as she ran for the door. "Let's get going Charlie! We don't want to miss the action!"

**x-x-x**

I watched carefully as Grotle perfected the earthquake. This move would be great for the next gym battle. I didn't want to have use Grotle, due to the type disadvantage, but if it came down to it and I had to, this would help.

"Grotle!" Grotle slammed down on the ground, making cracks all in the frozen lake. I gripped a tree for support as the ground shook again.

"You're making it awfully hard to work here!" All of Kyle's tools fell to the ground.

"Sorry!" I yelled. "Do we need to stop?"

"No." He picked his tools up and walked over to me, handing back my poketch. "Sorry, I can't fix it. This is a bit too high tech for me. Whoever made this, made it to where you couldn't do anything with it using basic tools. We'll just have to stop and have it fixed in Jubilife."

"That's okay Kyle." I wrapped the watch back around my wrist. "Thanks for trying."

"Eh, you're welcome. Sorry I couldn't help more." He looked down at Grotle. "Looks like the training's going well."

"It is!" I exclaimed, reaching down to hug Grotle. I pulled a poffin out of a box from my bag, and let him munch away at it. "Great work today Grotle. I really think you have that Earthquake just about down." I pat his green head as he happily ate at the poffin.

"Grotle!" Grotle grinned, licking away the last of the crumbs.

I smiled as I recalled him to his pokeball. "Let's see. No training for Staraptor today, so let's go with Luxray next." I threw out Luxray, and he happily played in the snow. He was always sort of the jokester of my party. Luxray ran up to a mound of snow, letting his tail turn bright metallic silver. "Alright! Iron Tail!" I was glad to see him practicing, even without my command, until I saw his real motives. Luxray pounded his tail against the snow, sending a large snowball into me. I nearly fell over from it. "Luxray!" I yelled, reaching down to ball up a snowball in my hands. I aimed for him, but then grinned as I turned around and nailed Kyle with it. The snowball exploded on his leather jacket, sending pieces onto his glasses and in his thick brown hair.

"Oh… you're so going to get it." Kyle wadded up a snowball and threw it at me. I ran to hide behind Luxray. "Oh yeah?" Kyle threw out Arcanine. "Here's my fort."

I giggled from behind Luxray as I balled up a new snowball. I raised up, and threw it for Kyle, but he jumped behind Arcanine. "Ah shoot. I missed."

Kyle laughed before jumping onto Arcanine's back, snowball in hand. He surprised me and hit me with it, right on the shoulder. "Gotcha!" He laughed, before taking off on Arcanine's back, out onto the slippery lake.

"No, I'm going to get you!" I jumped on Luxray's back, with a snowball ready to chase him. We got close behind him, and I threw the snowball with all my might.

"Arcanine!" Kyle called out to his faithful dog.

"Arf!" Arcanine turned, letting out a small ember that melted the snowball on contact.

"No fair!" I yelled. "Using a fire type like that."

Kyle grinned as he pulled a snowball seemingly out of nowhere, and tossed it toward me.

"Luxray! Iron Tail!" Luxray waved his tail, making it shine, before striking back the snowball like it were a baseball. Arcanine slid away, just missing it. The force from the Iron Tail was making us slide all over the place on the sheet of ice. "Luxray! Your claws!" Luxray extended its long sharp claws out, scratching them against the ice. It was an awful sound, but it effectively stopped us from sliding.

Arcanine trotted over to our side, and Kyle smiled at me. "Shonna! Believe it or not, this is a very good way of training for the gym battle. I'm willing to bet the stadium floor will be something like this, and we're even practicing attacking and defending out here."

"Yep." I agreed, looking around the frozen lake. "Only problem is, I ran out of snowballs!"

"Well you'd better hurry up and get some." Kyle lifted up Arcanine's fluffy tail to reveal a stack of snowballs.

"Hurry Luxray!" I yelled as we raced for the snowy forest. I was being pelted in the back with snowballs all the while.

**x-x-x**

Jane and Charlie stepped into the gym, shivering. She knew now, that they should have dressed more appropriately for this city. They'd made a flying leap from the warm heated van, through the gym doors in search of warmth, but unfortunately, none was to be had. The entire gym was freezing cold, and the floor of the stadium looked more like an ice skating rink. Jane shivered, looking at the plaque that read 'Gym Leader: Candice'.

A girl wearing surprisingly little approached them. She had on a dressy white shirt, with the sleeves rolled up and a brown miniskirt. She had an aqua colored sweater jacket, but she had it tied around her waist and wasn't even using it! Jane secretly pined for it, and wondered if she could buy it from her with the company money.

"Can I help you two?" The girl said with a smile on her face. Her black pigtails bounced as she walked.

"Umm yeah." Jane dismissed the thought about buying the jacket. It looked too small for her anyway. "We're looking for Candice. Is she in, kid?"

The girl giggled. "That's me. I'm Candice."

"What?" Jane looked her up and down. "You look like a schoolgirl."

"Well thanks I guess." Candice smiled. "Now, can I help you?"

Jane shrugged, too cold to argue with her. "I'm looking for someone. Did a man named Kyle Gray come through here?"

"No, not that I can think of." Candice looked contemplative. "Do you have a picture or something?"

"No…" Jane cursed herself for not bringing one. "He's a three time pokemon master, are you sure he didn't come through here and battle you at some point?"

"Afraid not." Candice smiled again. "Sorry I'm not more help."

Jane sighed, ready to give up. "It's okay."

"Wait!" Charlie blurted. "What about the girl he's traveling with? Shonna?"

"Like anyone would know her Charlie." Jane mumbled.

Suddenly Candice's eyes widened. "You guys know Shonna?"

Jane stood dumbfounded. "Yes?"

"Oh wow!" Candice twirled, looking energetic. "She's the famous trainer from the pokemon school here. She was on tv! I teach there know, and while she wasn't one of my students, I've heard lots of the older teachers talk about her. They said she had a lot of potential, before she dropped out. But even considering that, the whole school is talking about her! She's a real role model to the kids, and the adults!" Candice giggled.

"Are you kidding me?" Jane couldn't believe she'd found a town where that little pet of Kyle's was actually more popular than him. "Wait, are you saying that she could be at the school? Saying hello to old teachers and stuff?"

"I sure hope so!" Candice beamed. "The kids would love to see one of the school's own come back visit after being on tv."

"Hmm…" Jane smirked. "Just where is this pokemon school of yours Candice?"

"Oh! It's up on the hill, almost all the way to Lake Acuity. You can't miss it!" Candice pointed out a window to a large snowy hill, where a big building sat.

Jane did not want to have to leave her warm vehicle again, but she'd do whatever it took to get that interview.

**x-x-x**

Kyle and I collapsed in the snow after an exhausting snow battle. We'd recalled our tired pokemon as well. I smiled, looking up to the sun, and moved my arms and legs, making a snow angel. Kyle leaned up to watch me.

"So what now?" He asked.

"I still need to train." I sat up, releasing Rapidash from his pokeball. He stood nobly in the snow, and whinnied at me.

"Brrrr…." He looked up at the tiny snowflakes that were falling.

"That's what I say." I hugged Rapidash, sucking in the warmth of his gray flames. They only had a slightest hint of blue in them now. "Rapidash, you'll win me this gym battle for sure."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Kyle stood up to huddle beside Rapidash as well. "If we're right about our frozen water gym floor theory, Rapidash will be out of luck."

"What do you mean Kyle?" I hugged Rapidash tighter.

"Sorry but," Kyle gently lifted one of Rapidash's legs out of the snow. "His hooves. Pokemon with hooves can't maneuver on frozen surfaces at all. They have no traction. Hooves are great for walking around the forest, but on ice, he'll be tripping all over himself."

"No way!" I yelled. "Rapidash, you show him! Go out on the lake."

Rapidash gave me a funny look, as he strode over to the lake. As soon as he hit the slick ice, his hooves clambered all over, and he tripped, falling onto the ice.

"Brrrrrr!" Rapidash cried out, as the flames from his mane began melting the ice.

"Oh no!" Kyle and I ran out to him, pushing him back to the land just before the ice fell through. Kyle and Rapidash made shore, but my bottom half slipped into the water.

"Told you." Kyle said, helping me out of the freezing water. "You okay?"

"Y-yes." I shivered, crawling over to my warm Rapidash. "I'm sorry Rapidash. I just couldn't believe that you would be anything but gallant."

"Rrrrrr…" Rapidash laid its head on my shoulder.

"I know, I guess everyone has their clumsy moments." I looked to Kyle now. "Well, most everyone."

Kyle chuckled. "So, what are you going to do to compensate for this? We sure don't want Rapidash falling through to a pool of water."

I stood up with Rapidash, petting his back. "I'll just have to not use him this time. It's not ideal, seeing as how he's the only one with a good type advantage against ice, but I suppose there's nothing that can be done." I reached for Rapidash's pokeball and put him back up. "I don't really know what Palkia's capable of, and Staraptor's out, so that leaves you," I threw out the pokeball. "Lucario."

"_It's about time."_ Lucario stretched_. "I was getting a cramp in there."_

_Yeah yeah._ I said thinking_. Let's work on that new move of yours Lucario. The aura sphere?_

"_Sounds like a plan."_ He nodded.

"While you're training with him," Kyle interrupted. "I'm going to go over there and train for a while." He pointed to an area on the other side of the lake.

"Okay." I agreed, and with that, he took off on Arcanine's back once more across the lake.

"He's so cool." I mumbled.

"_Hey."_ Lucario crossed his arms. _"Lovey dovey stuff later. Training now."_

"Right." I turned back to him. "So let's see. What I want to know, is if you can concentrate your aura into a bone you can hold, why is a sphere so hard?"

"_It's a lot harder than it looks."_ Lucario glared_. "It's much more powerful than the bone club, and you have to hold onto that power for a long time to make it build. I can't even get that down, let alone the part later where you have to throw it."_

"Well, Kyle saw you do it once as a Riolu, in the heat of the moment." I commented.

"_It was easier for some reason back then."_ Lucario hung his head_. "I can't figure out why."_

"Hmm…" I sighed. "I don't know much about this aura stuff either though."

"_Sure you do."_ Lucario looked up at me_. "You could do it too!"_

"What are you talking about?"

"_You have aura powers as well Mom! You wouldn't be speaking to me now if you didn't." _

"You're losing it Lucario." I sat down on a nearby rock. "Humans can't have the same powers as pokemon."

"_What about the Kanto gym leader Sabrina? Are you going to tell me she doesn't have psychic abilities like her pokemon?"_ Lucario put his paws on his hips.

"How would you know about that? It was before your time." I pointed out.

"_I was stuck in that egg for a long time, but that doesn't mean I didn't know what was going on around me."_ Lucario retorted. _"Just try it. Try concentrating it all in one place. Your hand for instance."_

"Fine, if only to prove you wrong." I held out my hand, inspecting the old scar I had on it from Kanto. I concentrated on my so-called aura, and closed my eyes. A surge powered ran down through my arm, and when I opened my eyes again, a tiny blue spark flashed for a second before disappearing. "That's impossible." I muttered.

"_Told you."_ Lucario grinned.

_Him and Kyle are far too much alike lately._ I thought.

"_Am not." _He whined.

"It was just a snowflake Lucario. Now listen." I stood up. "I'm supposed to be training you, not the other way around. Now start working up an Aura Sphere."

Lucario held his paws behind him, closing his eyes. He looked like he was having some trouble, but a tiny ball appeared between his paws. It was about an inch in diameter, before it fizzled out. He growled in frustration.

"Just keep trying." I sat down on the rock again watching him. I took a brief look down at my hand again, before shaking it off to look back at Lucario.

**x-x-x**

Jane breathed out a sigh in the frigid air. It looked like steam floating out of her as she crossed the pokemon school parking lot. This school took in anyone who wanted to learn about pokemon, from children to adults. They did also have the program set up so after a certain amount of time, you could get an immediate pass into the league, without having gym badges. Jane knew all the history of the school now, as she read the plaque outside, waiting on Charlie. He sluggishly dragged the camera on his shoulder as they walked inside.

"Look look!" A young girl shouted as they walked in. "TV crews are in the school!"

"Oh my gosh!" Another girl cried. The pair ran up to them. "Are you like, here to film the school?" The girls again, had schoolgirl miniskirts on, which made Jane wonder how people could get around in this town with so little clothing.

"No." Jane said bluntly. "The camera isn't even on so you can quit the cutesy act. Can either of you two direct us to one of the older teachers here?"

"Hmph." The girls puffed up in anger. "Find Mrs. Holloway yourselves."

"What's going on here?" A large lady dressed in a pink sweater approached them. "Girls, get to class!"

"Yes Mrs. Holloway!" The girls took off like a bullet for the nearby room.

Jane took a good look at this woman. She didn't look all that old. Probably mid-forties, but she looked like she had a lot of wear to her. She looked ragged, and certainly looked much more like a teacher than Candice had. "Mrs. Holloway?"

"Yes?" The woman answered in a raspy voice.

"Would you happen to have taught a young woman who attended here, her name is…" Jane stopped, unable again to think of the girl's name.

"Shonna!" Charlie reminded. "Her name was Shonna."

Mrs. Holloway brightened at the sound of her name. "Shonna was one of my students yes. She attended here for quite a while. She almost had her league pass before she dropped out. Me and one of the other students, Cynthia, tried to talk her out of it, but she was adamant about quitting. With as catty as some of the girls are here, I can see why she may have wanted to. But it's a pity. She was always such a good student. Cynthia got out and went straight to the league to win, but Shonna's still quite popular as well. Probably because she's sort of the underdog. But we're all sure she's going to do great, what with hanging around that three time region champ."

"Yeah umm… boring." Jane interrupted. "Lady I don't want her life story. I just want to know if she's stopped by here for a visit or anything."

"How rude." Mrs. Holloway put her hands on her hips. "No, she hasn't, but even if she had, I wouldn't tell you. You awful reporter!" The teacher twisted her fat rear as she walked to her classroom.

"Great." Jane sighed, sticking a piece of mint into her mouth. The cinnamon taste did little to warm her mouth, but it helped. "Another bum lead."

"Hey Jane." Charlie pointed down.

A little boy tugged on Jane's sleeve with drool running down his face. "Can I have a candy?"

Jane stepped back, disgusted. "Beat it kid. I've got serious business to attend to!"

The little boy began to sob. "Please? I'll tell you a secret about Shonna if you do."

Jane searched her pocket, pulling one wrapped peppermint out and handing it to him. "Tell me what you know."

"Yay!" The boy tore the wrapper off and sucked on the mint. "Well, Mrs. Holloway likes to talk about her in class. She says no matter what, even if we're having a bad day or being bullied, we need to stick together as a school. She said when Shonna was having a bad day, she would sneak out sometimes, getting out of the school grounds. Mrs. Holloway says this isn't the thing to do. She says to come talk to her."

"Cut to the chase kid." Jane chewed on her mint impatiently.

"Well, they would always find her up at the lake. She went there to get away a lot." The little boy sucked on his mint happily.

"Lake Acuity?" Jane looked to Charlie. "Is that far?" Charlie shrugged.

"It's a little further up the mountain." The boy said. "There's no roads up to it though. You'll have to walk if you want to see the lake."

"Walk? In this weather?" Jane stared the boy down. "Little man, you're crazy if you think I'd walk up a snowy mountain."

The boy shrugged, turning to walk down the hall. Charlie looked back up to Jane with question.

"Yes Charlie. It's a bit of a long shot, but let's go. If she's not there, then I'm going home." Jane turned to the door, and she could see snow piled up against the glass panes. "Anything for a story."

**x-x-x**

Kyle was still on the other side of the lake. He and his pokemon looked like blurry sticks in the distance. I recognized the red of Arcanine, Charmeleon, and Scizor, but everything else was too muted to tell.

"_I just can't do it."_ Lucario flopped down in the snow. It'd been hours since I started training with him, and he'd only managed to make his aura sphere an inch bigger. Maybe.

"You can't just give up." I stood up to him, but he looked depressed, in some ways defeated. "Lucario, just because you can't learn that one move right now, doesn't mean you can't win at this gym."

"_But it still sucks mom." _Lucario sulked.

I tried to remember that brief moment of silliness I'd seen in him back when we were floating around the distortion world. _What could I do to bring that back out? He never had fun anymore_. I looked over to the dwindling collection of snowballs me and Kyle had made earlier, picking one up. I sneered, and turned to throw it at him. Before it'd even left my hand, Lucario dodged.

"_I can read your mind remember?"_ He reminded me. _"So I could see that coming."_

"Hmph." I grabbed another snowball. "Well then cut out the mind reading for a minute and just pretend I'm another pokemon." I started to throw the snowball and stopped. He dodged, making me know he had let the link sever temporarily. I smiled, before really tossing it at him and hitting the long spike on his chest.

Lucario pulled a bone club out of his aura, and held it tight. Every time I threw snowballs at them, he would either bounce them back, or swing his club in a circular fashion to completely tear them apart.

"Come on!" I whined. "Attack me back! You know I don't care."

Lucario looked a bit hesitant, but he picked up a snowball and lobbed it at me, hitting me straight in the face. I wiped it away laughing.

"Lu. Lu." Lucario chuckled, this time in his real pokemon voice, with no telepathy. Then he made a big stack of snowballs.

"Oh no!" I reached for my stack, but I had ran out. I hurriedly grabbed at the snow, trying to make a new one. Lucario used the opportunity to lob snowballs at my butt. "Lucario! Just you wait!" I laughed, gathering a giant snowball. I turned around to throw it at him, when I saw a strange sight.

"Lu Lu Lu!" Lucario laughed, his eyes closed as he reached for a new snowball. He was all out of them, but when he reached down, a ball of aura appeared in his paw. It was a little bigger then the snowballs we'd been throwing, and he tossed it elegantly toward me, without ever even opening his eyes.

My snowball dropped out of my hands as this aura ball hit me. It felt weird, because it didn't really hurt too much, just felt like a giant bouncy ball hitting me in the gut. Then it sent me flying backwards about twenty feet into a tree. The ball disappeared, but I looked up to see a pile of snow from the evergreen flop down all over me.

"_Mom! Ma!"_ Lucario ran to me, using telepathy again. _"Are you okay? I'm so sorry!"_

"That was… awesome!" I popped out of the snow like a daisy. "Do it again!"

"_Umm…"_ He looked at his paw and tried to concentrate. Nothing happened.

"Nevermind that! Let's just keep having fun!" I jumped out of the snow pile and tackled him, making us both flop into the snow.

"Lu lu!" Lucario laughed once more. I loved that laugh so much.

"I really think we're on the right track here. Maybe you just need to relax more. Not worry so much, you know?" I sat up, making sure Kyle was still on the other side of the lake. "But, would you mind going over there and seeing what they're up to?" I struggled to keep my real thought out of my head.

"_Yeah sure."_ Lucario got up, and started to walk away. He made it about a quarter of the way over the lake, before I gave up and thought about my plan. _"Hey wait a second!"_ He turned and ran back to me. _"You can't do that!"_

"Sure I can! I need to. Besides, no one's around." I muttered. "I know Kyle will be mad but, I've just got to try." I pulled out the masterball from my purse. I tossed out into the snowy field, releasing Palkia. It stood, looking around at the scenery. I couldn't tell if it had a look of disgust or intrigue, but it looked annoyed, that much was sure.

"_Did you forget?"_ Lucario pointed to the beast. _"It's huge! It's like three times taller than the tallest trees. Somebody from town could see it!"_

"Well then, it will take them a while to get here." I watched as Arcanine from the other side turned to stare. It wouldn't be long before Kyle would be over here lecturing me. I ran to Palkia. "Please Palkia! I want to be able to train with you too! Can you show me what moves you know?"

Palkia sneered. "Ki Ki Ki!" It laughed, as it charged up power in its claws. It was dark looking. I watched as the purple light surrounded its whole arm before it swung the Dragon Claw attack right at me. Lucario caught me mid air after the hit and slammed me down into the snow.

"_Mom! Put that thing up! It just abuses you!"_ He pleaded.

"No wait!" I yelled. "That was great Palkia! What else have you got?" I grinned.

"Kiiiia…." Palkia gave me a funny look. I looked over to Lucario for translation.

"_It says it doesn't understand why no matter what it does to you, you still act like you care for it. It doesn't get why you don't just release it right now."_ Lucario stared up at the creature as he spoke. _"It wants to know what it has to do to make you get rid of it."_

"But why?" I was almost in tears. I wiped them away, seeing Kyle approach on Arcanine from the other side of the lake. I ran to hug Palkia's leg again. "I'm never getting rid of you. If you leave, you'll go find Dialga and fight again. And I promised Giratina I'd take care of you! Besides that, I do care about you! I care about all my pokemon, and no matter how much you attack me, that won't change."

"Graaa….." Palkia roared. "Kiaaaa!"

Lucario had his paws clinched in fists. _"It says if it wanted to, it could manipulate the space around us right now, and teleport us all far far away from it. If it wanted to, it could kill us all right now."_

"But you won't, will you?" I looked up to Palkia with a smile on my face. The pokemon seemed to smile back at me in a sinister way, but as I expected, it did nothing. "What else do you know Palkia?"

Palkia's eyes turned back a bit and it grinned again as it turned to Kyle and Arcanine quickly approaching on the ice. Seemingly out of nowhere, a mass of water appeared from Palkia's throat. It poured out in a wave. A surf attack. Once I saw where it was aimed, I wasn't happy anymore.

"Palkia no! Not them!" I grabbed its tail, trying make it stop, but it flicked me away. I watched helplessly as Arcanine struggled against the waves.

"_That's enough!"_ Lucario yelled, gathering the bone club in its paws. _"I've had enough of you and your attitude!" _He lunged for Palkia, jumping in the air, when suddenly he was stopped. The air around him turned a slight pink, and a bubble formed a wall around him.

"Graaaaaa!" Palkia growled, as he sent Lucario flying into the mountainside.

"Lucario!" I looked around me at the sight. When I came here when I was young, this lake was beautiful. It was almost always frozen, but glistening in the sun, and the cavern sat peacefully in the middle. Now it was a pile of rocks being washed away by Palkia flooding the place. And it was turning my pokemon into projectiles to take out the landscape. "Stop it!" I screamed. "Stop it now Palkia! Stop destroying this beautiful place!"

Palkia stopped, and turned to me with a smile on his face. "Ki ki ki." It was laughing at me.

**x-x-x**

Jane and Charlie were exhausted, and freezing. About half way up the mountain Jane had decided this was a very bad idea. But they were almost there now. Or at least, she thought they were. They were following a small creek that was frozen leftovers from the lake, running down the hill.

"Eventually, this creek will lead us to the lake." Jane said under her breath.

"Hey Jane!" Charlie pointed to the creek. "You see that? There's water."

"Yes Charlie. It's water. Gold star for you." Jane mumbled. "Idiot."

"No I'm serious!" Charlie persistently pointed. "Look!"

Jane sighed, glancing over to the creek that was a few feet away from them. Sure enough, there was some, unfrozen water trickling down the hill. "Okay, not that big a deal, but thanks for telling me." Jane sighed once more. Suddenly, she heard running water in the distance. Not just a little, but a lot. "Charlie. Let's move away from the creek for a minute." They walked away from the creek, about another ten feet away, when out of nowhere a mass of water poured down the creek violently. The waves came up out of the embankment hitting where they'd stood just moments ago.

"Wow." Charlie looked to Jane. "Should we film it?"

"No, but be getting your camera ready. I feel like we're close." Jane stuttered.

A crashing noise made both of them jump. It was close, and Charlie lifted his camera to tape the rocks crumbling from a nearby cliff side. A blue pokemon stood weakly. It glanced over at them, then ran swiftly up the hill.

"Wasn't th-that that girl's po-pokemon?" Charlie said shivering.

"Yes!" Though her feet ached, Jane ran in her high heels up to the top of the hill, still hidden amongst the trees. She could see the lake, and the mess it was in. Her foot sank into the watered down snow. "Charlie! Get up here! You've got to see this! You've got to film this!"

"What is it?" Charlie asked wearily, carrying his camera, ready to film. He made sure he had the lens cap off as he came up to look at the lake. There, just about 2000 feet away from them, stood the biggest, ugliest, monstrous pokemon he had ever seen in his whole life. And as the camera rolled, his mouth dried out, and opened slightly in a gasping sound.

"Charlie! This is great! Are you getting this! One of them has this giant beast of a pokemon! I bet you anything it's Kyle! Only he could handle a pokemon like that." Jane watched in awe. "Once we show this to the network, I'm sure to get a promotion. Heck, I may run the whole company!" Jane was almost in tears as she looked to Charlie, who was white as a sheet. "No Charlie! You'll ruin it all! Don't you dare scream!"

**x-x-x**

"Shonna!" Kyle screamed to me from the back of his soggy Arcanine. "Recall that thing now!"

"But I was just making some headway." I said quietly, searching frantically for the masterball in my purse.

"Kia!" Palkia roared at me, lifting me into the air. Suddenly I could feel the air around my neck constrict and tighten. As instinct, I wanted to try and grab this force that was choking me and pull it away, but I forced myself to find that masterball. Once I finally had my hands around it, I couldn't even breath well enough to yell 'return', but I pressed the button on the ball, making the light pull Palkia inside. Palkia gave me a sneer as it sunk into the masterball. With that, I plummeted toward the ground, landing on Arcanine's back. I had to hand it to the dog, he was much more formidable than the typical fire type. To withstand a powerful surf attack like that and still be moving. I pat his head gently, and turned in horror to see Kyle behind me, giving me an angry stare.

"Shonna! What were you thinking? I told you not to let it out! What if someone had seen it?"

"But hey!" I tried to laugh, rubbing my sore throat. "Nobody did, so everything's okay right?"

"!" A scream echoed through the whole valley. "Aiiiiieee! "Eiiiiiieeeee!"

That's when I saw Lucario run toward us. _"Mom! Reporters! Down that way!"_ He was gasping for air. _"I think they got it on film!"_

"Go Arcanine!" Kyle yelled, commanding his dog to chase after them. It wasn't necessary though, because when we caught up to them, there stood Jane, trying to cover her cameraman's mouth as he screamed his head off.

"You idiot!" She smacked him. "It's gone now, and you gave us away!"

"Jane, hand over the camera." Kyle said calmly. "We can't allow you to have that on film."

"No way! Are you crazy?" She screamed. "This is my promotion right here. Actual footage of a legendary pokemon. The people will love it!"

"Hand it over Jane. We won't let you air that." Kyle said again.

"Never!"

With that, Lucario popped out from behind Arcanine, bone club in hand. Before anyone could react, he sliced the camera right down the middle. The pieces fell to the ground, where he destroyed every bit of it with his club. The poor cameraman looked as though he were going to have a heart attack.

"No! No! Stop that!" Jane actually tried to take the aura bone away from him, but it was futile. "You know what?" She screamed. "I don't care! We still saw it with our own eyes! We know! And we'll tell every reporter on this side of the region to follow you like a hawk for it!" She laughed, and though I didn't want to admit it, she was right. I had let the secret out all so I could learn more about my Palkia, to no avail. I looked back to the lake. _I made a mess out of everything._

"Uxxxxiiiiiiieee!" A cry called out. I saw the wispy shadow from before, and it was approaching us fast. It flew, in a yellow blur, before stopping between our party, and Jane and Charlie. It turned to us first.

It had a giant head, and was sort of fairy like in structure. Its eyes were firmly closed. I recognized this pokemon. It was one of the lake spirits we'd rescued from the Galactic lab.

"What is that thing?" Jane said, staring it down. "Oh if only we had our camera!"

"Uxieeee!" It cried again. I watched in awe as Arcanine and Lucario nodded at it.

"_Yes. We understand." _I heard Lucario say to it. _"We'll take care of it."_

Suddenly Arcanine flipped us off his back, tossing us into the snow. I watched as he flopped down on Kyle's face, covering him completely.

"Hey Arcanine!" Kyle was squirming underneath. "What are you doing? Get off me!"

Lucario turned to me looking serious. _"Mom! Keep your eyes closed tight."_

I had no idea what this was about, but I trusted Lucario, and for as much as Kyle hated being smothered under Arcanine, I'm sure he knew there was a good reason as well. I saw Arcanine cover his own eyes with his paws. Lucario tackled me, his eyes shut tight, covering my eyes with his fuzzy paws. I closed them as tight as I could.

"What is that thing?" I heard Jane yell. "What's it doing?"

"J-Jane! I'm scared!" Charlie whined.

"Uxieeee!" As soon as that cry erupted, even through my eyelids I could tell there was a bright white light flashing. The light persisted for what felt like forever, but within a minute, it was gone.

Lucario lifted his paws off me gently. _"You can open them now. It's gone."_

I slowly let my eyes flutter open. Kyle and Arcanine were sitting beside me, looking at the reporter pair. When I looked over there, I was surprised, because nothing looked any different. Jane was still standing, looking into space where Uxie had once been, and Charlie was huddled against her in fear.

"What?" Jane looked down to Charlie, who looked back at her with the same dumbfounded face. "Who the heck are you? Get away pervert!"

"What? I'm not a pervert!" Charlie yelled, letting go of her. "I'm…" He stopped and looked to her. "Who am I?"

"Don't ask me." Jane turned to us now. "Hey you there! With the blonde hair."

I gave her a smug look. _Why was it she could always remember Kyle's name but not mine?_

"And you there!" She continued. "With the leather jacket. Could either of you tell me who this dude is that was clinging on me? Or how we got here for that matter? I'm freezing."

Kyle stood up, walking over to Jane. "You, don't know me?"

"No?" Jane stared at him oddly. "Should I?"

"Yes." Kyle said under his breath. "But that's okay." He grinned. "So tell me your name."

"Why should I?" Jane stepped back. "I don't know who you people are, but I don't just tell any guy my name. Even if they have a cool leather jacket on. I mean, I like bad boys, but don't get your hopes up mister. I'm a very busy woman."

"Oh really?" Kyle turned to wink at me. "And just what is it you do mystery lady?"

"I'm a…" Jane stopped. "I'm a… I don't remember." She suddenly looked confused. "I can't remember what I do… or my name!"

Lucario looked to me, knowing I'd be the only one to hear him. _"When Uxie opens its eyes, it wipes out the memory of all that look into them. The stuff about their lives and names is only temporary, but they'll never remember Palkia again."_

"It's okay you two!" I jumped up. "We just found you up here on this mountain, but we'll help you out."

"Really?" Charlie smiled.

"You'll really do that for us?" Jane shivered.

"Absolutely." I tossed out Rapidash's pokeball and leaned in to whisper to him. "Rapidash, I know this will sound odd, but I want you to trust these reporters for a while. Let them ride on you down the mountain without being burnt to a crisp okay?"

Rapidash gave me a funny look, but walked over to the pair.

"Hop on!" I said, motioning for Rapidash to lower. Charlie hopped on with no problem at all, which made me think whatever memory caused him to be afraid of pokemon was gone as well.

"It's so warm." He commented.

"Now you listen here Mr. Bad Boy." Jane stumbled in the snow, reaching for Rapidash. "I don't want any help from you getting up on this horse. You keep your hands to yourself."

Kyle laughed. "I wasn't planning on it."

I rolled my eyes at Jane's new captivation with Kyle. She was even worse than before! But I wouldn't say anything about it. I didn't want to spur up any old memories just yet. I recalled Lucario and hopped back on Arcanine with Kyle. We strode side by side with Rapidash as we trekked down the mountain.


	34. A Very Hopeful Joy!

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait on this. I'll try and do better about updating now. Thanks to all the loyal fans who are still reading!**

**x-x-x**

Episode 33: A Very Hopeful Joy!

As Arcanine trotted down the hill, I couldn't help but think about Palkia. _If it really wanted to, back at the lake, it could have busted its master ball into a thousand pieces, and killed me. So why didn't it? The only thing I could figure, is that regardless of how desperate it was to get away and fight Dialga again, it was still a pokemon, and until I officially released it, it was bound to that master ball, by some kind of internal rule that pokemon have amongst themselves. In that respect, it had to recognize me as its trainer._

I held my head in frustration. _I'd never had a pokemon like this. It was all so confusing. Sure, back when I had my Skitty, it disobeyed me, but it didn't want dead either._ I looked up to Kyle, who had stayed silent the whole trip. I wanted to ask him how he handled his legendary. How he was able to train an Articuno, but I knew with Jane and Charlie just a few feet away, I couldn't.

We passed by the pokemon school on the way down the hill, and though I didn't want to stop and visit that awful place again, something compelled me to motion for Arcanine to head that way. There was something in the parking lot that struck me as odd. "Kyle look!" I whispered. "It's their news vehicle."

"It sure is." Kyle hopped off Arcanine and ran over to the van. "Keys are still in it. Arcanine! Take them on down to the center. I'll meet you there." Kyle hopped in the van and took off down the hill in it.

"Where's bad boy going?" Jane asked concerned.

"So warm." Charlie hugged my Rapidash around the neck.

"Don't worry." I said as Arcanine and Rapidash began walking again. "We'll see him a bit later."

**x-x-x**

It was turning dark fast. The stars were almost out when we arrived at the pokemon center. Kyle was already there, and was leaned against the news van. When Jane and Charlie stepped off Rapidash, I recalled him. Kyle did the same for Arcanine. Once we were inside, Nurse Joy gawked at us from behind the counter. I put one finger in front of my mouth in a motion to tell her to be quiet.

"These people need a room for the night." Kyle turned to Charlie and Jane. "Separate ones, if possible."

"If possible?" Jane glowered.

"Uh…okay." Joy looked at us all oddly before scribbling down a name on her clipboard and handing Kyle a pair of keys. "16 and 17 okay?"

"That'll be fine." Kyle led us down the hall unlocking a door for Jane. "Here's yours." He placed the key in her palm, moving on to Charlie's room. He did the same for him. "And here's yours. Now you two have a place to stay tonight."

"Thank you very much." Charlie bowed politely before entering his room.

"Thanks for the room bad boy." Jane winked at him before walking into her room.

"That woman is getting on my last nerve." I was ready to chase after her when Kyle dragged me away to our room.

"Now now. Calm down." He said, running his fingers through my hair.

"I don't get what you're trying to do anyway. Why let them sleep here? What if they wake up tomorrow and remember they're trying to follow us?"

"Let's not worry about that right now." He put a finger to my lips to silence me. "Let's talk about the real problem here. How you let Palkia out and it nearly killed us all."

I was hoping he'd forgotten. "Well, everything worked out in the end."

"We got lucky." He noted. "If Palkia hadn't decided it was more fun to almost choke you to death, you'd be dead right now. If you hadn't been able to recall it, it probably would have laid waste to all of Sinnoh in search of Dialga. And if Uxie hadn't shown up by some fluke and remembered we saved its hide back in Veilstone, right now Jane and Charlie would be telling everybody about the whole situation!"

"We did get lucky." I reiterated. "I'm sorry Kyle. I know I screwed up."

Kyle sighed deeply, letting go of my hair. "Shonna please. You've got to be more careful."

"Then help me Kyle!" I pleaded. "Tell me how you went about training a legendary. How did you get it to obey you?"

Kyle placed a hand on the door, making sure it was shut good. He whispered. "Articuno never fully obeyed me like a normal pokemon Shonna. It just doesn't totally hate my guts anymore."

"Yours hated you too?" I said, hopeful.

"Yes, but it didn't try to kill me either." He plopped down on the lower bed, and I sat beside him. "Even though Articuno was grateful to me for saving it from the collapsing caverns, it wanted nothing to do with me. It wanted to get away, be free. That's just the way legendaries are. But at the time, that was impossible to do. It took a lot of time and training to get Articuno to where it actually cared about me."

"But you trained it right? That's what I was trying to do earlier."

"When you train a legendary you don't just do it anywhere Shonna. It has to be a place you know 100% sure, that no one will find you. On top of that, I always kept my fire pokemon out during that time to ensure that if anything went wrong, they'd be able to keep it under control."

"Palkia's water and dragon type I think." I said, thinking to myself aloud. "Luxray could help. And I could send for Pikachu."

"Shonna." Kyle looked at me seriously. "I don't mean to shoot down your dreams, but Palkia's a real wild card. We don't know what it's going to do, or how it will react anymore. I don't think we have anything that could really stand up to it either. I think it would be best on everyone if you just let it be for now."

My heart sunk. _What was the fun of having a pokemon if you couldn't train it? Or play with it? Or even let it out every now and then to show it you cared?_

"I'm sorry." Kyle hugged me tight before climbing up the ladder to his bunk. "Just wait a while okay. Maybe in a year or so, things will be better."

"But that's so sad." I whispered.

"Hey Shonna." He peeked his head over the top bunk to look at me. "Today laundry day?"

I looked up at him. "Yeah. I guess so."

"Okay." He disappeared behind the bed. I thought for a minute he'd fallen asleep. But then all his clothes started flying to the floor.

"Kyle!" I yelped, drawing back my feet from where his pants fell. "What are you doing?"

He sat up, with only a cover over him. "Getting comfortable. Those clothes got cold and wet in all that snow today, and I'm sick of sleeping in them." He groaned. "Goodnight Shonna."

"Well… uh. Goodnight then." I was so frazzled from this I didn't know what to say. I just slid into my bed and tried to pretend my boyfriend was not naked just a few feet above me. I rolled over, sighed, rolled over again. No matter what I did now though, I couldn't sleep. "Darn you Kyle." I whispered, quietly sliding out of the bed. I gathered up all the wet clothes into a pile in the floor. I knew Kyle's spare outfit was dirty too, so I dug it out of his book bag and added them to the mix. I walked into the bathroom, changing into my spare work outfit, and added my clothes to the pile. "Guess I will go do the laundry." I mumbled, gathering all the clothes into my arms. As I was about to walk out the door, I noticed a tiny card on the nightstand. I fumbled with wet socks trying to pick it up and read it. It had wrote: 'Sorry for all the trouble today. I hope you can forgive me. – Nurse Joy'. I placed the card back down, and opened the door slowly. I reached for the key, making sure to lock it back. The last thing I wanted was Jane sneaking in there to find her bad boy.

I pocketed the key, and headed down the hall. The laundry machines, as with most pokemon centers, were in the back of the building, down in a cellar. I yawned, placing the load in the washer, with just the right amount of detergent.

"I don't think Kyle can even do his laundry." I said quietly as I closed the lid and started the machine. I'd have to come check on it in an hour. "Then again. I can't cook."

"I know! I know!" A muffled voice scared me, making me jump. I followed the voice up the stairs, to a room in the back of the center. The door was left ajar, and I could see Nurse Joy on the phone. "No please! Don't do that Avery. I'm sorry! I just can't get the money right now. Give me another couple days, please!"

I continued to listen, pressing my ear against the open door.

"Avery I know, but I tried." She sounded as though she were going to cry. "I can't do it anymore. I can't send you any more money. Please don't do it. Don't tell everyone. Please Avery!" I could see Joy through the crack, staring at the phone, and then she placed it back on the receiver.

"Joy?" I creaked open the door, making her jump. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, Shonna. Yes, come in." She sighed.

"Joy, do you need someone to talk to? I'm free for an hour or so." I sat down in a wooden chair across from her.

"Shonna. You should go instead of wasting your time with me." She smiled weakly. "Go have fun with Kyle or something."

"Umm, no. He's naked right now." I laughed.

"Oh wow." Her eyes widened. "I didn't know you two were that far in your relationship."

"What?" I didn't get what she meant at first. "Oh no!" I yelled. "It's not like that."

"Hmm… I see." Joy giggled, as though she didn't believe me.

"In any case, enough about me." I leaned over. "Can you tell me what's up with you? Maybe about that phone call."

Joy leaned back in her chair, staring at the phone. "Fine. I guess the secret will come out eventually anyway, soon enough." She sucked in a deep breath. "That was my boyfriend on the phone just now. He's blackmailing me."

"Blackmail?" I leaned forward even closer. I wasn't expecting something that interesting. "Is that why you wanted money so badly?"

"Precisely. He says if I don't get him 5000 dollars by mid-day tomorrow, he'll leave me, and tell my secret." Joy looked up to my face. "I guess you're wondering what a poor pitiful Nurse Joy could have as a secret?"

I nodded, wondering that very thing. I was shocked when she tugged at her pink hair, which ended up being a wig she threw to the floor.

"Here's my big secret. I'm not really a Nurse Joy." Her hair was a soft brown, and just longer than shoulder length. It hung in two cute braids, which flopped in front of her. "Boring as my story is, I have one. If you'd like to hear it."

I nodded again. "Yeah, tell me."

The girl looked down at her feet sadly. "Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a Nurse Joy. My mom always told me, 'You can't be a Nurse Joy! You have to be born into their family to run a pokemon center. You have to be a sister, or a cousin, and I'm afraid you're not.' She told me everyday, that the best I could hope for is that some Nurse Joy would take me under their wing and let me help with the center. Then one day, that happened."

I thought back to when I used to come here for pokemon school. "There was a Joy I met here once. She was older than most I've seen."

"That's true." This girl stared back at me with her deep blue eyes. I wondered if mine looked like that. "There was a Joy here. She took me in and trained me here at the Snowpoint Pokecenter. She knew I had a passion for helping pokemon. I stayed with her from the time I was ten, helping around here. She grew old, and had no daughters. She knew that if the Joy family found out, they would send someone to replace her after her death. Her dying wish was for me to take over the center."

"That's awfully sad." I whispered.

"So from that day on, I dressed like a Joy, acted like a Joy, even wore a wig to look like a Joy. The Joy family is so big, that they didn't even notice the difference, or question it. Only problem is, I'm not a Joy. And Avery found out. If he tells, I could be in big trouble. They could arrest me for impersonating one, and I'll lose the center." A tear began to form in her eye.

"Hey! It's okay." I raised up out of the chair to put one hand on her shoulder. "I'll help you out! There's got to be a way to fix this. I mean, I have some nice folks that are leaving a day-care center to me, but I don't have to be part of their linage to take over. That's hardly fair that you should either."

"You'll really help me?" She stared up at me with a smile. "Will you give me the money?"

"No." I laughed. "Can't do that, but we'll figure something out."

She wiped away the tears. "Thank you Shonna, but it's really too late. If Avery doesn't get the money by tomorrow at noon, he said he'd tell everyone I'm a fake."

"You listen to me." I put my other hand on her other shoulder. "This Avery guy is blackmailing you. And that's a bad relationship if he only wants money. As soon as we figure this thing out, you need to leave him, okay?"

"You and Kyle have such a nice thing going on," She smiled. "So I know I can trust your advice. Besides, you seem like a very nice girl, and about my age. I think we could have been good friends, given different circumstances."

"We still can." I let go of her and smiled. "So tell me, if your name's not Joy, what can I call you?"

The girl looked down shyly. "My name's Hope."

I chuckled. "That's good enough for me." I turned around on my feet and headed for the door. "Come on Hope! We're going to think of a plan!"

"Okay Shonna!" She smiled, standing up to follow me. "What are we going to do?"

"That…" I turned back to her once we'd reached the center lobby. "I don't know. But we'd better get cracking if we have to have this thing done by noon." I looked up to the tv, which was turned at a low volume to Jubilife News. There was some story they were about to cover, about an artist who loved to paint pokemon. He went blind and didn't think he was going to be able to ever paint again. In his desperate time, he quit painting, until he met a smeargle that showed him his way again. Even though his art is quite abstract, it's highly prized among art collectors. He's even more famous now than he was before. The media was asking the public to support him in all his endeavors. "That's it!" I yelled so loud, Hope covered my mouth, reminding me people were trying to sleep. "That's it Hope!" I said a little quieter.

"What's it?" She asked.

"We'll get you on tv!" I grinned. "The people will see how much you care for pokemon, and you'll get so much support they'll be no way they can take you away from this place."

"That sounds great Shonna, but how are you going to get me on tv?" She asked.

"Did you forget?" I grinned as I pointed over my shoulder to the parking lot, specifically the Jubilife News van. "We have a reporter, cameraman, and all the equipment right here."

"Speaking of which," Hope looked confused. "Are you on good terms with them now? You all came in together so friendly."

"Not exactly," I headed down the hall toward Jane's room. "Let's just say, they won't be pestering us for a while though." I knocked on the door loudly. "Ja-… Umm, can we come in for a minute?" As I knocked on the door, it creaked open. It wasn't even shut. "That's weird." I pushed open the door a little. "We're coming in okay?"

Hope followed me into the room, which was completely empty. Jane was nowhere to be found. "Where do you think she went?" Hope asked, with concern.

"I don't know." Suddenly, my eyes widened. "Stay here Hope. I'm going to check something." I ran down the hall, fumbling with the key to unlock mine and Kyle's room. Since it was still locked, things looked good, but I had to be sure. I opened the door, closing it behind me. "Jane, if you're in here, I swear I'll beat the living daylights out of you!" I yelled.

"Agh! What?" Kyle sprang up from his sleep. He threw the cover off in surprise.

"Kyle!" I closed my eyes and turned around before I saw anything, luckily.

"Oops. Forgot about that." He laughed. "What are you doing up Shonna?" He asked sleepily.

"Just laundry." I turned back for the door grabbing the key for the news van, and making sure not to turn his way. "Go back to sleep Kyle. I'll be back soon."

"Hmm? Okay." He laid back down, and I left the room, locking it behind me again. Hope stood out in the hall eyeing me strangely again.

"Never mind." I laughed. "She wasn't there."

"You just wanted to peek on your boyfriend." Hope snickered.

"Did not!" I could feel my face turning red. I rushed past her heading for the parking lot. "Anyway! We don't need a reporter, we'll make do." I unlocked the van's trunk, finding all the equipment we'd need. Luckily, there was a new camera, all sorts of wires to connect them to… stuff, and even a couple suitcases. I grinned, opening one I thought might be Jane's.

"Isn't that wrong, going through other people's things?" Hope was looking around the dark parking lot, making sure no one was watching.

I laughed, putting a joking tone to my voice. "This coming from a fake nurse joy."

"I suppose you're right." She looked down again.

"Jackpot!" I yelled, pulling out a business suit with skirt combo that looked just big enough to fit me. Jane was petite like Hope, but she couldn't play reporter. I sighed, knowing I was in for another stuff myself into a too small disguise routine.

"I could do your hair different." Hope offered.

"That'd be great." I pulled the outfit from the van, as well as an armful of television equipment. I didn't know if I'd need it all. "You grab some stuff too Hope, and let's take it inside.

A shadow stepped toward us. "What are you two doing?" Charlie emerged into the parking lot light.

"Um, uh, um…" Hope stood with a camera, looking nervous.

"We're filming." I grabbed the camera right out of Hope's hands and placed it in Charlie's, hoping he would go with the flow. "Wanna' help?"

"Sure." He stared down at the camera, and he gasped. "I'm Charlie! I'm a cameraman with Jubilife News!"

I gulped, still holding all the other stuff we'd need. _Had he figured it out?_

"And…" He continued. "I'm supposed to be doing something. But I don't remember."

"You're supposed to help us film this TV special Charlie." I was going to use his dimwit to my advantage. "Could you possibly get it set up so we can get a live feed going with Jubilife News right now?"

"This isn't the best time slot." He pointed out. "They only do sappy stories this time of the night, and you'll have to clear it with HQ first."

"We unfortunately don't have any more time." I struggled with the mound of stuff in my arms. "If you have the number though, I'll talk to them."

Charlie pointed to the side of the van, which had it in big numbers. "Oh. I feel stupid."

"It's okay. You're just tired." Hope laughed. "Let's get this stuff in, and you can use the pokecenter phone."

I dropped everything on the couch once inside and called out the number to Hope as she dialed in the lobby. I instructed Charlie to get everything set up in another room before I grabbed the phone.

"Who is this?" Someone asked on the other end.

"Who is this?" I said in my most hateful tone of voice. "This is Jane! The best reporter you people have! You idiots shouldn't forget so easily." The man screamed on the other end. "Oh. Sorry boss. But hey! I found the pokemon master! Kyle Gray! He's agreed to do an interview, but only if he can do it right now. Can we get a live feed set up?" I listened to the man banter for a minute. "Yes I understand it will take a while to set up. It will on our end too. Of course. All right. The 11:00 time slot? We'll be getting ready then." I hung up, feeling excited.

"Well?" Hope looked anxious as well.

"We got it!" I yelled into the room with Charlie. "Charlie! Can you get this thing set up in about 45 minutes?"

"I've got it covered Jane!" I heard him cry.

Hope gave me a look. I just shrugged_. If he wants to think I'm Jane, fine. Because for the next few hours, I would be._ I dug the pinstriped skirt and jacket out of the pile, turning to Hope, who had hairpins already pulled out and ready out to use.


	35. The Search for Jane!

**A/N: SPOILER ALERT!: I'll say it now. If you are currently reading or plan on reading Kyle's Arson in Johto story, this chapter is going to give away a major spoiler to it! If you haven't read his Conner Unmasked chapter, you might consider not reading this yet. Otherwise, enjoy this chapter, and the new character introduced for this arc of the story.**

**x-x-x**

Episode 34: The Search For Jane!

Jane had meandered down the docks that night, stumbling into an open bar. She didn't even know why she was here, and now she sat blowing the money she found in her pocket on shots. The bartender stood in the corner drying off a glass. The place was full of smoke, and lost souls. She felt about the same way though. She didn't know who that guy was that clung to her like a lost puppy, or the girl that helped them, or the hot guy in the leather jacket. She sighed, watching endless commercials flood a TV in the corner. She didn't even know who she was.

"Turn it up Bob. I want to hear this!" Someone yelled. The bartender reached for the TV remote, turning the volume up on the news station. A clock rang out, indicating it had just turned 11:00.

"_This is Jane here with Jubilife News!"_ A perky blonde, with her hair wound tight in a bun on the back was staring back through the television. Jane didn't recognize her of course, but she liked the outfit. The pinstripes were nice.

"_I'm here to give you an interview with the reclusive pokemon master Kyle Gray, but I'm afraid he's asked to wait until after this announcement we have to share with you. I'd like to spend this time giving you a brief story of Hope, and Joy."_

The camera panned to a Nurse Joy. Pink hair and all. Jane sighed in boredom. The Joy sucked in a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak.

"_I may look like a typical Nurse Joy, but I'm not." _She tossed a wig to the ground, and looked straight at the camera. _"I've been the Nurse Joy here in Snowpoint City for three years now, and my name is Hope."_

"How dramatic." Jane groaned, watching as the camera panned to the blonde woman again.

"_Hope here was appointed by the previous Nurse Joy to this pokemon center, but she couldn't take over officially since she's not from the Joy family. She was told to dress the part, and never ever tell. How is this fair? Hope has a passion for pokemon, and helping them heal. But don't just take my word for it, I'm sure you can see it in her work." _The television showed Hope working with a Togepi. The Togepi bounced happily in her arms. "_Without Hope's help, this Togepi wouldn't have hatched safely. Thanks to her, it's a playful baby pokemon, And this Staraptor!"_ Now they showed a Staraptor with a split on one wing. "_Its wing could have been broke without the proper treatment, but thanks to Nurse Hope, it's going to be just fine." _

A man stood up, bursting out the door, soon after, a couple others ran out.

"_Please. Hope just wants to keep working at this center, and helping the pokemon. We need all the support we can get. This is Jane with Jubilife News. We now return you to your regular programming. _The TV fizzled to static, then back to some other boring news story.

"Hey everyone! That's our Nurse Joy!" A giant bald man stood up from the bar. "I mean. Nurse Hope! We gotta go out there and show her our support!" After he got up, all the rest of the bar followed him.

Jane pulled out what was left of her money. "Hit me again."

"Sorry little lady." The bartender put the glasses away, reaching for the keys. "I'm closing up. I'm going out to the pokemon center too."

"Are you kidding me?" Jane pocketed the cash and clumsily walked out on her heels. "Whatever. I'm out." She pushed open the door, almost tripping. The moon was out, shining on the river. A dock led out to it. Jane stumbled over to the dock kicking her high heels off and into the water. "Good riddance." She mumbled.

All around her, people were leaving their houses, rushing up the hill toward the pokemon center. Jane didn't see the point. She slumped down onto the dock letting her aching feet hang off the edge.

A ringing in her pocket interrupted her relaxing moment. She picked the cell phone out of her jacket, not recognizing the name on the display. "Hello?" She mumbled.

"Jane!" The man blared. "What the heck was that about? We sent you a live feed for that?"

"Who's this?" Jane held the phone away. "Your voice is giving me a headache."

"You insolent fool!" The man roared. "I'm your boss at Jubilife News! How many times do I have to tell you that today? Where was that interview you promised? You had better not have lost the company money over that!"

Jane reached into her pocket. She had a little more than $1000 left. "Umm…"

"What! You spent it? You lousy reporter! Jane! What's wrong with you?"

"Jane?" Something clicked with her. "Jane! That's my name! I'm a reporter! I remember now!"

"And it's a fine time to remember." Her boss grumbled. "Who was that blonde impersonating you? She was great! If you find her, you tell her there's a position in Jublife News for her! Your position! You're fired Jane!"

The phone beeped when he hung up, and Jane held it in front of her. After staring at it for a minute, she let it slip out of her hands, sinking into the dark water.

**x-x-x**

"I can't believe this!" Hope cried. "Everyone's here!" She was nearly in tears. She nervously twisted on her brown braided hair.

"This is great though!" I yelled over the crowd. "With all these people rooting for you, they just can't arrest you!"

"Hope! Hope! Hope!" The crowd cheered, it looked like the entire town was here at the center, gathered in front, in the parking lot.

"This is really inspiring." Charlie began to tear up as well.

"Excuse me! Coming through." A girl with strange black pigtails who looked about our age, maybe even younger, pushed her way through the crowd. "Hiya! I'm Candice. The gym leader at this city."

"Candice." Hope smiled at her.

"Hope, I just want to say, I'm with you all the way. I can totally vouch that you're the best pokemon nurse around. You've always been so good with my pokemon." Candice beamed.

"That's great Candice." I held out my hand. "I'm Shonna. Me and Kyle will be fighting you at your gym later."

Candice cocked her head like a confused puppy. "But, I just saw you on tv. You said your name was Jane."

"Oh!" I pulled the hairpins out of the back of my hair, letting it flow down. I then took the glasses I'd hidden in my pocket out and placed them on my face. "There we go."

"Oh my gosh!" Candice threw her arms around me. "You're her! You're Shonna! I can't believe it."

I stepped back a bit in shock, shooing her away. "Yes?"

"You're like so popular here! The school would go crazy if they knew you were here." Candice grinned like a little schoolgirl. The outfit matched the part too, making me remember the girls that used to tease me at that school. "Everyone would love to meet you! Will you please come and be guest speaker in my class?"

"What?" I was taken back by this. "No, I umm… would everyone really like that?"

"Of course!"

"Maybe I was put in the wrong place, in the wrong time." I mumbled, wishing the class I grew up with would have been excited to see me.

"What's that you say? Was that a yes?" Candice begged.

"I have to say no for now." I declined. "Besides, I was planning on fighting your gym tomorrow."

"Well that's perfect!" She winked. "I'll just have them go on a little field trip to my gym tomorrow then."

"Really I…" I wanted to say something to change her mind, but I had a feeling that wasn't going to happen. "Okay."

"I'll come watch you battle too Shonna!" Hope said smiling.

"Alright people move it." I heard a voice blare over the crowd. "Coming through." Officer Jenny appeared, shoving her way through with handcuffs. "Nurse Hope… you're under arrest for identity fraud."

"No!" I yelled. "Officer Jenny that's just not fair!" I jumped in between them.

"Step aside or I'll have to arrest you too."

"Please Jenny. You know what it's like more than anyone. You have a passion for law and justice, but what if you hadn't been born a Jenny? Would you just give up on your dream?"

Jenny didn't say anything.

"Come on Jenny." Candice pleaded. "We're all here to show her we love her no matter what her name is. Don't ruin this."

"Hope! Hope! Hope!" The crowd rallied.

"I'm sorry." Jenny reached around for the handcuffs, and pushed me aside. "I don't have any choice."

Hope just hung her head as she turned, giving up. Everyone went quiet.

"Ring Ring Ring!" A telephone rang, from inside the center. Everyone just looked at each other.

"I'll get it!" Charlie ran inside, answering the phone. "Yeah. Uh huh. Really? Really! That's great!" Charlie covered one end of the phone and called out. "It's the head of the Joy family line. They watched the show! They said they want all charges dropped immediately, and for Hope to continue her fine work!"

Jenny rushed inside, taking the phone from him. "Yes? Are you sure? Certainly! No that's alright. Thank you very much. Bye." Jenny placed the phone back, and walked out to the parking lot again. "Well, keep up the good work Hope." Jenny waved, before getting back in her motorbike and leaving.

"We did it!" I cheered, hugging Hope tight.

"We did!" She hugged me back. "Thank you so much Shonna! I don't know how you did it, but you did it!"

"Hope! Hope! Hope!" The crowd cheered again.

"Ring Ring Ring!" The pokemon center phone rang out again. Me and Hope walked inside to Charlie, who had already answered it.

"Yes?" The dopey man looked for the first time, serious. "I know, sorry. I understand. Yes sir." He hung up the phone. "That was my boss. He wants me back at the station right away to be assigned to a new reporter." He hung his head. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this Jane, but he said he fired you."

"Charlie I'm not Jane, I'm Shonna, remember? I was just acting the part to…" I repeated what he said in my head. "Wait, what? Jane's fired?"

Charlie nodded.

"Oh no." I sulked. "Did I, did I get Jane fired?" I felt really bad. "I've got to do something. I've got to fix this." I looked up to Charlie. "Stick around for a while, please Charlie? I've got to try and find Jane."

"It's already so late Shonna. You should rest some." Hope offered.

"I can't. It's all my fault she got fired." I rushed for the basement door. "As soon as I get the load of laundry in the dryer, I'm headed out okay?"

Hope looked worried. "I'll go with you."

"I'll be alright." I headed down the stairs yelling to her. "You try to thin out that crowd out there!"

I really truly did feel bad about getting Jane fired. I knew just what to do to get her old job back, but Kyle wouldn't like it. Not one bit. I fumbled getting out of Jane's old clothes, and back into my pink t-shirt and overalls I used at the day-care. I looked really bad in them, but I didn't really care. I changed the load out, switching on the dryer. I knew it'd be done by the time I got back. I'd brought some money down for the laundry machines, but I'd brought too much. This one took only pokecoins. I still had plenty of change sitting on the top of the dryer. I pushed it down in the front pocket of my overalls, along with the key to our room, and the small pocketknife mom had given me a while back. I found it in my pants pocket before I put them in the wash. _Maybe while I look for Jane, I could stop at the pokemart and pick up some stuff with the cash I had._

I raced up the stairs and out the door. Only Charlie, Hope and Candice were left in the parking lot.

"We clean up pretty good huh?" Charlie laughed, taking Jane's old outfit from me.

"I helped!" Candice giggled.

"Please be careful Shonna." Hope handed me a coat to put on and smiled. "We'll be waiting for you."

"Thanks everyone. I'll be back soon. I know this city pretty well." I slipped on the coat, waved, then ran down the hill toward the south side of town. I'm not really sure why I wanted to go look here first. I guess I just had a gut feeling that Jane would be there. She'd already seen all of the north. The lake, the school, the gym, and the center.

The south side is vastly different. It's sort of the slums, if you can call it that. I slowed down to a walk as I headed for the bay. There were lots of back alleys and bars in this area. I looked around the docks for a while, seeing the new ships that had pulled into port glistening in the moonlight, and finally, something caught my interest. A woman, sitting on the docks, feet in the water, and leaned over with her face in her hands.

"Jane!" I called out to her, but she didn't even look up. I walked down the wooden planks. My sneakers made a creaking noise on it. Once I got closer, she glanced up at me. "Jane?"

"What do you want Shonna?" Her eyes were red, and I could tell from even a few feet away that her breath smelled of alcohol.

"Hey wow. You remembered my name." I looked down to her feet, which were turning blue. "Jane! Get your feet out of the water! It's too cold to do that here! You'll get frostbite or something!" I reached down and pulled one of her legs up.

"Don't help me." She spat, bringing her other leg up, She stood, weakly, almost falling face first into the water. I caught her, helping her stand.

"Come on. Let's get you out of here." I motioned for a neon sign close by. "That's a 24-7 PokeMart. Let's get you a pair of shoes and back to the center to rest."

Jane didn't say anything as I helped her walk along to the pokemart. When we got inside, the place was brightly lit and clean. This was the only decent building in this area. Some kind of elevator music was playing, that was nearly putting me to sleep. Jane almost fell over again. I sat her down in a chair. A buff looking lady clerk from the other end of the store stared at us in a knowing way. I searched, finding a pair of shoes I thought might fit her. They were ugly, but looked comfortable.

"Want to try them on?" I asked, handing her the box. She didn't take them, or answer. "Fine. I'm getting them for you then." I headed for the register when she grabbed my sleeve.

"I'm paying for my own shoes." She stuffed $1000 into my hand as she said this, and I knew it was her company money.

"You sure?" I asked.

"Yeah. Doesn't matter anyway. I'm fired. Some blonde chick screwed me over." She grunted.

I turned to look at her. _Was she so drunk she didn't realize that blonde chick was me?_ I took the money and paid for her shoes. The beefy looking clerk snorted as she bagged it up.

"Thanks." I said turning back to Jane. "Here. Try them on."

She slipped them on, staring at them for a long time before looking at me, up and down. "You know something?" She stood up uneasily. "You have terrible fashion sense."

"I know," I laughed, helping her out the door. As I did, some blue and red lights caught my attention. Officer Jenny's motorbike pulled up beside us.

"What are you two doing out here so late?" Jenny took one look at Jane and helped her into the attached cab of her motorbike. Jane flopped down into it in a heap.

"Could you take her back to the pokemon center Officer Jenny?" I asked. "Make sure she gets to her room safely?"

"Yeah sure." She frowned. "But what about you? I don't have any more room on my bike or I'd let you ride with us."

"I'll be okay. I made it here fine."

"I don't like the thoughts of you walking around here late at night by yourself." Jenny chuckled. "Even if you do look like a farmer."

I laughed. "Well, that I do."

"Tell you what. Stay here and I'll come back and pick you up. Got it?"

"Fine. Hurry back." I said, feeling drained. With that, she took off up the hill. I went back in the pokemart and bought a bag full of hot chocolate waiting. I'm not normally an impatient person, but my tiredness was getting the best of me. It must have been two or three in the morning by now. I laughed standing just outside the mart. "My poketch would be right on time right about now."

I waited for a few more minutes, before I gave in and began to walk down the boardwalk. "This way, I'll meet Jenny half way." I told myself.

A little while later, I stopped to rest just outside an abandoned sugar mill. I leaned against the wall, taking shelter under a still flickering porch light. "So sleepy." I groaned.

"What a little peach." A man's voice came from the shadows of the nearby alley. "I must say though. The guy has weird taste. I'm not sure what he sees in a plain looking girl like you." The alley was completely dark, until the figure stepped out half in the light. When he did, I gasped.

The man looked about the same age as me, but something seemed off about him. He wore a tattered black trench coat, which hung loosely on him, almost like a cape. He had some kind of smooth looking red button up shirt on, and black pants. And his red hair, was around shoulder length and scraggly. It hung in waves over his shoulders that seemed to drip down like blood. But his eyes… they were most striking. They were solid red. I'd never seen anything like it. Looking at them, made my throat clench up, and I couldn't speak.

"You know, a sweet little thing like you shouldn't be walking around alone this time of the night." He stepped closer toward me.

I backed up, feeling a sudden rush of cold air. I looked down to the bag in my hand. It was just a bag full of hot chocolate_. How could I have been so stupid? I came all the way down here, leaving my purse, and all my pokemon back in the room_. I reached into the pocket of my overalls. _I have to be the dumbest blonde ever. Now all I have to help me is a dinky swiss army knife._ But inside the pocket, I flicked the sharp end open, holding it in my hand, ready. "Who are you, and what do you want with me?"

"My name is Ricky Conner." He grinned. "But we don't need to be so formal. Do we Shonna?"

"How do you know my name?" I asked, gripping the small knife in my pocket.

"I came here to see Kyle. Didn't he tell you about me? That saddens me. We were best friends in Johto after all."

"I don't believe that." I said, stepping back again. "Kyle wouldn't hang around with some weirdo like you."

"My dear friend Kyle," Ricky grasped a bit of my long blonde hair that flew toward him in the wind, using it to pull me close to him. "What would you do if you found out I soiled your little flower?"

I reacted. I threw my arm out, and lunged for Ricky, hoping to get him right in the shoulder. Just as the knife was about to pierce him, he had his hand around my wrist, and jerked me back. My pokemart bag fell to the pavement as he forced me into the dark alley, slamming me against the wall hard. I screamed, but when I saw his piercing red eyes stare back at me, I couldn't breathe again. He plucked the knife out of my hands and tossed it away. I tried to struggle, but he had me pinned, staring me down again with those evil eyes. He smiled, and leaned over to me, kissing my neck.

"No please…" I begged. "Please don't…" In between the tears building up in my eyes, I could see flashes of blue and red lights.

Ricky slowly raised his lips up to just beside my ear. "I'll be seeing you again, little flower." He let go of me, taking off down the dark alley.

My legs felt weak, and I couldn't even support myself well enough to stand. I fell, knocking over a trashcan.

"Shonna?" Officer Jenny pulled to a stop beside me. "What are you doing here?"

"Officer Jenny!" I reached for my pocketknife on the ground and held it close. "There was a man. He attacked me." I was shaking.

Jenny sprang out of her motorbike, releasing an arcanine. It was not near as big as Kyle's, but it took off behind me down the alley, sniffing the ground. Jenny helped me up, and into the motorbike. "I found your stuff over there and knew you had to be close by, but Shonna, you should have stayed at the pokemart like I said."

"I-I know." I stuttered, taking the bag of things from her. I laid them in my lap, watching her dig out a radio.

"This is Jenny. I'm on the south side in front of the sugar mill. I have a report of a man attacking a woman. I've sent Arcanine to investigate, do you copy?"

Something muffled a reply back to her.

Jenny looked to me. "Was he armed?" I shook my head, saying no. "No. Not armed. I need back up though. I want everyone down here looking for this guy."

Her arcanine appeared back from the alley. He hung his head, saying he hadn't found him.

Jenny placed the radio back in its spot on the bike, and hugged her dog. "It's okay boy. You tried. We'll find him from here." She returned him to his pokeball and hopped into her seat on the bike. The wind whipped through my hair as we headed up the road. Police cruisers passed us, heading down to investigate. Jenny turned to look at me. "Shonna. I know you're very tired, and probably just want to get some sleep, but I'll need a full statement from you tomorrow morning. In the meantime, can you tell me what this guy looked like so I can let my boys know what to be looking for?"

"His eyes…" I was still clutching to my pocketknife. "They were blood red."


	36. Secrets On Ice!

**x-x-x**

Episode 35: Secrets on Ice!

When we got back to the pokemon center, I was much more calm, but still completely in shock of how the night had turned out. As Officer Jenny escorted me in, I almost robotically climbed down the stairs to get the laundry. I threw it all in a basket, along with the things I'd bought, and carried it up the stairs. I left Hope's coat lying on the dryer. I knew she'd find it.

Hope and Charlie were in the lobby as I walked by, talking with Officer Jenny. I heard her briefly tell the story as I walked by, but I didn't stop to hear it again. As I headed down the hall, I reached for the key in my pocket, still shaking as I struggled to unlock the door. I walked into our room, closed the door, and sat the basket down. I flopped into the bed, feeling myself already falling asleep.

Kyle leaned over the side looking at me, rubbing his eyes. "Hey you're back." He mumbled. "I heard a pretty loud commotion outside earlier. What was all that racket? I wanted to go find out, but somebody made off with my other outfit." He pointed to his book bag.

"It was dirty." I grumbled.

"Shonna? You okay?"

I didn't answer, and within a few minutes, I was asleep.

**x-x-x**

I had nightmares all through the night, or at least, what was left of it. I woke up at around nine in the morning to the tv in the corner of the room. Kyle was sitting in front of it, watching the broadcast of our tv special replay again. It must have got more ratings then I thought it would. I sat up looking at myself on the screen, still feeling groggy.

Kyle turned his head to look at me. He was dressed now, which I was thankful for. "Morning Angel."

"Morning." I yawned.

"Pretty hot reporter on there. Wouldn't you agree?"

"No." I smiled. "Not really."

He chuckled. "Now I see what you were up to last night."

"Darn, I've been caught." I sat up, sliding my feet out of bed.

"What's up with you though?" He walked over to sit beside me. "You seem so glum this morning."

I stared at the tv, not really watching it now. There was a knock on the door.

"This is Jenny! Shonna, are you awake? I need that statement now."

Kyle looked at me with some strange expression, before jumping up to get the door. He opened it letting Jenny in. "Officer Jenny? You sure you don't have the wrong room?"

"Afraid not." She walked over to me. "We can either take this elsewhere, or you can tell me here." She pulled out a clipboard and pen.

"Here's good." I looked up to her as Kyle sat beside me again.

"First off, I've spoke with Jane. She said you found her and helped her get up here. She didn't see anyone suspicious during the time you were with her. Is this correct?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Alright then." Jenny scribbled something down. "Start at the point you decided to chase after her then."

Kyle stared a hole through me as I began to speak. "When I found out Jane lost her job because of me, I went down to the docks looking for her. I helped her get over to the store to rest, and get some shoes on her cold feet. That's when you showed up, and took her here. And yes, you told me to wait there…" I looked down.

"But you didn't?" Kyle shook his head. "Shonna. You shouldn't have been up doing all this anyway. Why didn't you come and get me?"

Jenny gave a motion to silence him. "Continue." She wrote something down.

"I got tired, and started walking. I ended up by the old sugar mill. That's when he came out from one of the alleys. He was probably eighteen I guess. He couldn't have been much older than me."

"Wait, what are you saying?" Kyle's face turned livid.

"He had red hair, dark clothes, and the reddest of eyes." I held my arms against me. "He said I looked plain." I chuckled. "I guess in this farmer's outfit, I did look it. I thought he might leave me alone because of that."

"Did he say anything else to you?" Jenny asked.

"Yes. He said his name was Ricky. He knew my name too. He even told me his last name, but I can't remember that." I shivered a bit from the memories. "He also said he knew Kyle. He was disappointed that he hadn't told me that he was his best friend in Johto."

Jenny looked to Kyle. "Is that true?"

"No!" Kyle yelled. "Some stalker is just using that story."

"And then…" I cringed. "He said 'Kyle, what would you do if you found out I soiled your little flower?' and grabbed me. I tried to get him with my knife, but he jerked it right out of my hand and drug me back into the alley."

Kyle's eyes were wide and his fists were clinched. He looked ready to jump someone. "No…" He whispered.

"I pleaded with him to let me go, but he held me against the wall." I put a hand on the left side of my neck. "He kissed me here, then when he saw the lights from your bike, he took off."

"Glad I got there when I did then." Jenny sighed. "That's all I need from you."

"Jenny, have you found him yet?" I asked, standing up. "Is he in custody?"

"No." Jenny sighed again. "The only lead we have is that some people on the north side claimed to have seen an airship flying away last night somewhere near the lake." She walked out the door. "We'll keep investigating though."

The room was quiet when she left. I wanted to fall over and go back to sleep, but something about the look in Kyle's eyes kept my attention. He looked a mix of emotions.

"Kyle?" I turned to him. "I asked you before we even started this journey, if you'd made any friends in Johto or Hoenn." I reached slowly for one of his hands. "Did you?"

He jerked his hand away. "That guy, was not my friend. He's the same guy who stole my pokemon, and he's long since dead." He stood up, pacing the room. "Somebody's playing some sick joke on us, that's all."

"Kyle…" I hugged him from behind. "I was really scared." A tear rolled down my cheek. He twisted around to hold me in his arms.

"Don't worry." He said softly. "I'm never letting you out of my sights again."

I smiled, laying my head on his shoulder. "Sounds good to me."

**x-x-x**

Part of me wanted to ask Kyle more about this whole situation, and part of me wanted to forget about it. We were quiet as we wandered out of the pokemon center that morning. Hope, Charlie, and Jane were all still asleep. I kind of wished I was too. We rode on Arcanine, and arrived at the Snowpoint City Gym in no time.

Candice ran up to me hugging me tight before we'd even made it through the doors. "Shonna! My morning class has been waiting for you. You'll go first right?" She twirled on her heels, skipping down to the other end or the stadium. As Kyle had suspected, it was a just a thin sheet of ice for the floor. I slid down to the podium that rested at my end of the battlefield. Candice waved to me from the other side. "Say something cool for the kids. Something about how the school influenced you!"

I looked to the bleachers, where Kyle took a seat beside the class of students. They ranged in age from what looked like seven, to fifteen. I turned to them, feeling grouchy from getting so little sleep. "That school… is the worst place ever. When I went there, everyone singled out the person they disliked the most, and ridiculed them until they could force them to dropping out. Well I'll tell you what, that was the best move I made! I got out and actually learned about pokemon by being with them, instead of reading about them in textbooks." I could see Kyle now trying to motion for me to stop, but I continued. "If any of you are being bullied, just get out and make something for yourself. You don't have to take that!"

Candice stared at me blankly before jumping up. "Class! What she means is that when you're being bullied, you should tell me, or one of the other teachers." Candice was glaring at me now. "Let's get this over with." She tossed out a Sneasel to the iceberg covered stadium. It skated around gracefully.

Peering into my purse, still half asleep, all the pokeballs seemed to blend together. I pulled a pokeball, letting Rapidash to the floor. He skidded into Sneasel, catching it off guard before being shoved away.

"Rrrrrr!" Rapidash whinnied in complaint. I recalled him.

"I'm sorry Candice." I stuck the pokeball back in my purse. "I can't do this today. I didn't get much sleep, and had a rough night last night. I'm not myself."

"Umm…" Candice looked over to the kids who were listening intently. "I guess. It'll mean you lose though."

"I'm okay with that." I said, walking over to Kyle on the bleachers. "You're up."

"Sit down then." Kyle got up, heading for the gym floor. "And try not to cause any more trouble."

I sat down beside a little boy, who was munching on some sort of candy. He looked up at me with bright eyes, and a runny nose. "You were lame." He said.

"Yeah." I agreed, turning to watch Kyle take the stage. I hadn't seen him in a gym battle since Kanto, so I was excited to see this.

The sneasel stood strong, remaining on the floor, Candice gave Kyle a look to say, "Go ahead."

A smile crept onto Kyle's face as he reached for a pokeball on his belt. He pressed the button, and Charmeleon leaped out. The fire on Charmeleon's tail, couldn't even compare with the fire in Kyle's eyes as he gazed out onto the field. It was obvious how much he loved to battle. He lived for it.

"Charmeleon!" Kyle leaned up against the podium. "Use Fire Spin!"

"Don't let it get you Sneasel! Agility!" Candice called out.

Sneasel danced around the rink, skating in a mocking sort of way around Charmeleon. Charmeleon watched him for a moment, before snorting out a few embers in annoyance. Amazingly, Charmeleon began skating circles around Sneasel, letting its fiery tail form a ring around the surprised pokemon. It snapped to him within seconds.

"Sneeee!" Sneasel winced, struggling to free itself from the burning ring.

"Pretty clever." I watched carefully. "When he was training on the lake, he must have taught Charmeleon to skate just for this battle. I must say, I've never seen Charmeleon look so graceful."

"Fury Swipes Sneasel!" Candice cried, looking distraught already. Her sneasel began clawing away at the ring, trying to break it away.

"Flamethrower Charmeleon!"

Charmeleon obediently stirred up flames from its mouth, releasing them on Sneasel, who was a sitting duck.

"Seellll!" Sneasel cried out, barely able to stand. It broke free of the fire spin, but looked like it was ready to pass out from the last blast.

Candice was gritting her teeth. "Sneasel! Get it with Ice Shard!"

"Sel!" Sneasel skated around the stadium again, forming a huge chunk of ice in its claws. It swung the giant shard, looking confident.

All that confidence melted away when Charmeleon flicked its flaming tail at it, shattering it on contact. Most of the pieces burnt up in his tail.

I watched in awe as the flame on Charmeleon's tail grew bigger and brighter. I knew, with all these high level moves and the other indications, he would be ready to evolve at any time. But he didn't. He stood there looking arrogantly at Sneasel, who in turn looked defeated.

"Come on Sneasel!" Candice cheered. "Slash it!"

"Slash it right back!" Kyle yelled.

The pokemon began skating around the floor, slashing away at each other with their claws. Most were misses, or on occasion their claws locked on each other for a moment, but then, Charmeleon swung his tail, striking Sneasel's legs.

"Sneeee!" Sneasel cried as it fell forward. It flipped over just in time to catch Charmeleon's claws once more. I had to wonder if maybe Charmeleon was having a bit too much fun with this, as he grinned before delivering the final blow in the form of a hot flamethrower to the face. Sneasel fainted, and Candice quickly recalled him.

"Jeez." I heard Candice groan. "Alright, go Piloswine!"

A large fury pig pokemon appeared from her pokeball. It stomped one foot and reared its tusks at Charmeleon.

"Meleon!" Charmeleon growled at him, but a red light recalled him back to his pokeball.

"You've had enough fun." Kyle mumbled. "Give someone else a turn." He tossed out a new pokeball. "Go Absol!"

Absol seemed almost surprised when she appeared on the stage. "Sol!" She barked, looking very happy.

"Piloswine! Use Take Down!"

"Dodge it Absol!"

Absol leaped away as Piloswine charged her, making Piloswine crash into an icy rock. It shook tiny ice fragments off its tusks in anger. It charged after her once more.

"Absol! Razor Wind!"

Absol leaped into the air, swinging the long razor like protrusions from her head to whip up a sharp gust that cut through Piloswine.

"Swine!" It whined.

Something seemed to click with Candice. "Piloswine! Fight back with Blizzard!"

It was then that an icy, snowy storm erupted from Piloswine, shooting back any wind Absol had dealt. Hard balls of ice knocked her to the ground, making her slide across the ice. She used her claws to stabilize herself.

"Keep up the Blizzard Piloswine!" Candice looked relieved to have an advantage, as Piloswine mercilessly brought out an onslaught of more snow and ice that made me shiver from the stands. But when I looked to Kyle, he didn't seem nervous at all.

A wall of ice was beginning to form in front of Absol as she stood, waiting for an order. The wall of ice was now about 5 feet tall, and I could see ice starting to freeze on Absol's tail.

"Now! Dark Pulse! And Bite!" Kyle cried.

"Solllll!" Absol howled as a wave of dark energy surged out of her. It shattered the ice wall quickly, as tiny shards flew into Piloswine's unsuspecting eyes. In the brief moment it was blinded, Absol rushed in on it, going for the jugular as she bit down hard.

"Swi!" Piloswine flopped to the ground in a heap, before Candice recalled it.

"Great job Absol!" Kyle called out, waving to his pokemon. Absol seemed a bit sheepish, scratching the ice with her claws. Kyle chuckled as he returned her. "Next?" He looked to Candice, who was looking pretty beat.

"One last one, then I have to go back to work." She pulled out a pokeball, twirling it on her finger. "I hope you have some kind of monster to face this, Mr. Pokemon Master." She threw out the ball, releasing an Abomasnow that cracked the ice floor as it landed.

"Snooooooow!" Abomasnow roared, and some of the smaller children sitting beside me shuddered in fear.

"Monsters? I can do that." Kyle grinned, reaching for the pokeball around his neck. Out popped Arcanine, standing just as massive as the Abomasnow in front of it.

"Wow!" A young boy nearby watched with a big grin on his face. "Look at that huge dog!"

"It's an Arcanine!" An older girl corrected. "It's beautiful! This Kyle guy, he's really cool!"

"Yeah!" The boy next to me turned to look at them. "A lot better than this lame-o over here!"

I sighed_. I wanted to ignore them, but it was sort of true. Kyle was way cooler than me. I'd already faced that a long time ago. His battle was so exciting, I was starting to feel revitalized, and much more awake. Now that I was though, I was starting to regret what I'd said to these kids earlier._

Candice glared, but with a smile on her face. "Man. My own students aren't even cheering for me." She turned back to the battle. "Abomasnow! Grasswhistle!"

Abomasnow picked up from under its foot, hidden somewhere, a solitary blade of grass and pressed it against its furry mouth. A soft tune echoed throughout the gym. I saw Kyle start digging through his book bag for something, which was odd. He doesn't use items in battles a whole lot. Arcanine started to nod off, and that's when I noticed my eyes getting heavy.

"Grasswhistle will put a pokemon to sleep!" A girl in the back shouted.

"Oh yeah…" I remembered now, as my head fell back against the bleachers, and my eyes closed.

"Awesome! Lame-o fell asleep too! Let's get a marker and draw on her face!" I heard.

"Or throw spit wads at her." Another voice said, each second, they got more and more muffled.

Just as I was about to drift back to sleep, the sound of another beautiful tune flooded the stadium. I sat up, my eyes fluttering open to see the boy next to me quickly hide his marker. I looked back to Kyle, who held a small flute, with a pokeball at the end in his hands. Arcanine stood up, shaking out his fur to wake up.

"Your pokemon's not the only one with musical talents." Kyle yelled, putting the flute away.

"And just where did you get that thing?" Candice said, hands on her hips.

"A man back in Kanto. It's proven to be very useful." Kyle grinned, looking over to me with a wink.

I blushed. I remembered perfectly well when Mr. Fuji had entrusted us with that pokeflute nearly four years ago, but I didn't know Kyle had kept it all this time.

"Guess that move's out then." Candice shrugged. "Abomasnow! Wood Hammer!"

This time, from somewhere within its icy fur, Abomasnow pulled out a wooden mallet the size of a small tree.

"Abomaaaa!" Abomasnow charged at Arcanine, but Arcanine just gave him a funny look, remaining still. Abomasnow stopped just before hitting him, confused by his lack of action.

"Arf." Arcanine opened his mouth letting out a mound of flames that fried the hammer instantly. Abomasnow reeled back in fear.

"Oh give me a break." Candice slapped her forehead. "Okay Abomasnow! Sheer Cold!"

Abomasnow seemed to fill up with anger, as icy wind surrounded it.

"Get away Arcanine!" Kyle called. "Don't let it hit you!"

Arcanine sprang into action, running across the ice. He ducked behind a frozen rock formation, just as a giant icicle crashed into the rock. I gasped as the entire rock turned into a thick chunk of ice, before crumbling in front of Arcanine's feet.

"That move's really bad." One of the kids beside me whispered. "If it hits, it's an instant K.O."

I looked up at Kyle, wondering if he knew. He still didn't seem nervous at all. And with his "prized Arcanine" fighting a grass/ice type mix, I wasn't really either.

"Get in there and use Flamethrower!" Kyle screamed, making Arcanine's ears perk.

"What?" The boy next to me leaned forward, sucker still in his mouth the whole time. "He's going in for a close offensive? That's suicide!"

"Sure is." I murmured, watching my handsome boyfriend smile that confident smile that made me swoon. Unfortunately, it was making a couple giggly girls in the back swoon as well.

"Snoooow!" Abomasnow charged up another huge icicle from its claws, and chucked it toward Arcanine. The furry dog slid away, still heading right for Abomasnow. "Snow!" Abomasnow looked hesitant as it formed another icicle, tossing it as well. Again, Arcanine dodged. I could see a hint of Extreme Speed kick in as he got behind Abomasnow, his claws scraping against the ice.

"Arrrrrr!" Arcanine growled, letting out the biggest Flamethrower attack I'd ever seen. Abomasnow writhed in the flames, struggling to move its slow body away.

"Heat Wave." Kyle called. And with that, Arcanine let out a wave of heat that blasted through the gym. It stung my eyes as I tried to watch what happened. Just as Abomasnow was about to get away, the entire gym floor melted beneath him. The water turned hot. Boiling hot. Abomasnow was done for, and floated helplessly before Candice recalled him. Arcanine simply swam out of the warm pool, and shook off like a wet dog would. "Awesome job Arcanine!" Kyle ran down, wrapping his arms around him.

"Arf!" Arcanine barked, licking at his face.

"Yay!" All the kids cheered. "That was so cool!" Everyone, including me, ran up to Kyle cheering.

Candice walked down, inspecting the pool of water. "What a mess." She said under her breath, before turning to Kyle. "Well, you decimated my gym and my pokemon, but you won." She handed a shiny blue badge to him. "Here's an icicle badge as proof."

"Thanks!" Kyle smiled, taking the badge and placing it in his badge case. "Just one more to go."

The kids ran up to Candice now. "That was so cool Miss Candice! Can we come back again and watch?"

"I don't know…" She said teasingly.

"I still want a battle." I said, raising my hand.

Candice shot me a glare. "It will take all night to freeze the pool up again, and get my pokemon healed up, so you'll have to come back tomorrow. But even so, I'm not bringing them for that."

"Please Candice." I bowed politely, hoping to redeem myself. "I promise I'll do better, and not say negative things about the school. I'll be good. Just give me another chance."

Candice hung her head. "You know, I was looking forward to our battle just as much as the kids." She sighed. "Fine. Come back tomorrow morning. But I swear, anymore harsh words from you, and I'm throwing you out of here, and you can just forget the badge."

"Really?" I smiled, taking the threat to heart. "Thanks a bunch!"

The boy with the sucker sniffled. "Ah man. We have to come watch Lame-o battle? That's dumb."

"Shh." Candice hushed him.

"Don't you worry. Tomorrow, I'll be the one getting that badge." I waved, walking out the gym door with Kyle. Coming from the recently warmed up gym, and stepping out into the frigid air made me shiver.

"So, no more making a scene at the gyms, right?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah." I said, feeling embarrassed. "Sorry."

"It's okay." It was the last thing he said on our short walk back to the pokemon center. I wanted to reach out and hold his hand, but something about the way he looked as we trekked through the snow, made me recoil. _Why did we suddenly feel so distant? Ever since this morning, he'd been so quiet._

A snowflake fell on my glasses. I grabbed them off my face, and wiped it away on my shirt as we were walking in the center. No one was in the lobby.

"I'll be in there in a minute. Just going to use the pokemon healer machine real quick, but you go ahead and get some sleep." Kyle handed me the key to our room in the center, but I handed it back, refusing to leave just yet.

"Your pokemon are okay right? I didn't even see them get very hurt."

"Yeah." He looked somewhat embarrassed now. "They did well, but better safe than sorry."

"You did well." I pointed out. "I was really impressed with your battle."

He blushed, just a bit. "Well, it was kinda a shoo-in."

"I suppose so." I said, turning to make my way down the hall, as I did, I spied Hope approaching me.

"Shonna! I'm so sorry! I was so tired this morning I overslept and missed your battle." She was falling all over herself with apologies. "I said yesterday I would come watch you! I feel so awful."

"It's okay Hope." I smiled. "You didn't miss anything. I didn't battle today. Kyle did, but I was too tired. You can come cheer for me tomorrow."

"That's good!" She let out a sigh of relief. "But there was something I was going to tell you. Jane woke up a little while ago, and asked if you were here. She looked really mad."

"When does she not?" I laughed.

Hope smiled in a sort of sad way. "She said she wanted to speak with you. She's in her room."

"Fine. I'll go see what she wants. I'd planned on talking with her this morning anyway." I headed just down the hall, to Jane's room and knocked. "Jane? You there?"

"Of course I am. I've only been waiting all morning. Come in."

I opened the door to see the reporter sitting on the edge of her bed, looking a mess. Her short brown hair was out of sorts, and her makeup had all been wiped away. "Good morning."

"What's so good about it?" She mumbled. "Oh wait, let me guess, you got your precious badge. I'm so happy." She did more than hint sarcasm in her voice.

"Nope." I shook my head. "But what was it you wanted to say?"

She stood up, walking over to stand in front of me. "I watched that special again this morning. The one that cost me my job?" She paused for a minute, before slapping me across the face. My glasses flew to the floor, and I held a hand to my cheek as I picked them up. "I don't know why I didn't see it the first time, but it was definitely you." Jane grit her teeth. "Where do you get off? Getting people fired!"

Hope rushed in, hearing the commotion. "Please Jane! Don't be angry with Shonna. She was only trying to help me out."

"You're both a couple fakes!" Jane spat. "Dressing up in disguises to benefit your own selfish needs, not even giving any regard to the consequences for everyone else around you."

Hope looked hurt at her comment.

"It's okay Hope. Jane has every right to be angry." I rubbed my cheek. "But, I asked Charlie to stay, because I have an idea to get your job back Jane."

"The last thing I need is your help." Jane turned away, brushing a hand through her tangled hair.

"What's going on in here?" Kyle appeared in the open doorway. Jane's eyes grew wide as she turned away again, looking for somewhere to hide.

"Kyle." I held my hands together. "I need a huge favor from you. Will you please help me?"

Kyle looked confused. "Sure, anything."

I turned back to the flustered Jane, who didn't seem as tense now. "Well then Jane? You get an interview with the elusive Kyle Gray. No, more than an interview. An exclusive!" I grinned. "We'll get it all set up for you and everything."

"But I hate being on camera." Kyle looked hesitant. "Do I really have to?"

"You said anything." I pointed out.

He sighed. "Okay."

"Umm… if that's the case," Jane snuck into the bathroom, still hiding her face from Kyle. "I need to get ready. I'll try to hurry. Will you all please leave?"

Hope smiled, gently leading us out and closing the door behind her. "Thank you for doing this Kyle. I'd hate to see Shonna hurt anymore over this whole mess. I know it's all my fault."

"That's not true Hope. I wanted to help you." I said shyly.

"Yeah well…" Kyle rubbed a fist against the top of my head. "Anything to help out the little troublemaker."

I squirmed away. "Someone should tell Charlie!"

"I overheard." He smiled walking toward us.

"Where did you come from?" Hope laughed.

"I was actually just coming from the van." He looked back to the lobby. "There's another car that just pulled up."

A clock hanging on the wall rang out. A mechanical farfetch'd pranced around and a hand on the clock shaped like a leek, pointed to twelve.

"Oh!" Hope stared at the clock. "It's noon. Avery was supposed to be here, and collect his money." She looked scared now.

"Hey Hope." I placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're all here for you. We won't let this guy hurt you. We've worked too hard for this."

"That's right!" Even Charlie puffed up a bit.

"Right." Kyle nodded. "I don't know much about what's going on here, but I'll do whatever I can."

"Then," Hope gulped. "I guess we'll just have to face him."

We all headed toward the lobby, straight for the front doors. I turned to Hope now. "What's this guy look like? Is he tough?"

Hope pulled out a crumbled photo from her pocket on her dress. She unfolded it to reveal a large man, very buff, with a slicked back haircut. The picture looked printed out. "This is all I have. He sent it to me."

"This guy?" I stared at the photo. He looked like an actor I'd seen once in a movie. "What do you mean he sent it?"

"Well," She stepped on the floor panel to open the door. "We met on the internet. And ever since, he's been demanding me to send him money through the PC. This is my first time actually meeting him."

The door slid open, and what I saw behind it surprised me. "Hope, this is a very bad relationship you're in."

**x-x-x**

Mars was curled up on a couch in a dark corner of the airship. She didn't know how long she'd been there anymore, or even where she was. The only windows were at the front of the ship, and Ricky forbid her to go near that room. She was scared of him. Honestly, she had been from the very moment she laid eyes on him. She didn't know what to make of his red eyes and hair that were so much like hers. But she had no other option then to follow him onto his armored airship. She couldn't remember very well, but when she did catch a glimpse of the outside of the ship, she could vaguely make out traces of paint in a 'R' shaped symbol. Perhaps this was an old Team Rocket vessel.

She stood, making her way to a back room. Ricky sat there, with a map unfolded over the table. A single red rose sat in his lap. He didn't seem to notice, or care that Mars was standing in the doorway. He hadn't even spoke to her on this whole trip. As soon as she'd called and arranged for him to pick her up, he just threw her aboard, and stood in her way every time she'd tried to get to the deck. The only reason she knew anything about him, was from research she'd done on him before all this. She'd been looking for someone who could hate Kyle as much as her, and avenge Cyrus, and she'd found her man.

Suddenly he jerked his head up to look at her. His evil red eyes stared into hers. She gasped, stepping back a bit. She wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go. It had been a while since she'd tried speaking to him, but now she found herself opening her mouth to do so again.

"You know Ricky, I'm not sure where we were earlier, but the ship got very cold. I'd venture to guess we were around Snowpoint city, with temperatures like that. But, that's only a guess." She leaned her head against the door. "You locked all the doors, so I don't know."

Ricky looked back down to the map, pointing a finger to an area, and tracing a path.

Mars chuckled. "Just what are you doing anyway? I asked you break Kyle and Shonna up. Is that what you're working on? Or are you just fooling around out there?"

Ricky's gaze shifted back to her, with a glare. Mars felt as though she should shut up now, but she continued.

"Not going to tell me what you're up to? I think I deserve to know. I was the one who hired you after all." She took a step toward him.

He stood, making her stop in her tracks. He held the rose in his hand, approaching her. "Allow me to let you in on a little secret Mars." His deep voice surprised her as he held the rose in front of her.

"Yes?" She started to reach out and take it, but before she could, he curled his fist around the top, making pedals rain down to the floor. A thorn close to the top caught on his fingers as he clenched it tight, making blood drip down his hand.

His eyes narrowed as he hissed his words out. "To make a flower die, you must first let it wilt."

Mars ran out of the room, hearing the door slam behind her. She threw herself back onto the couch, gripping the red pillow. Ricky hadn't followed her, but as she burrowed into the plush pillow, she couldn't help but feel his evil presence through the whole ship.

**x-x-x**

Kyle and Charlie had about the same look as me as we stared at the old geezer who stood in front of us. He was shaking, clutching to his cane as he stepped out of his car. Hope looked shocked as well, then shook it off and smiled.

"Can I help you sir?" She giggled.

"You certainly can." The old man shook his cane wildly. His words were muffled, with his dentures falling out of place. "You the head nurse here?"

"Yes, I am." She stood in front of us. "I'm Nurse Jo- Hope." She was still getting used to using her real name.

"Well good." The old man snickered. "Where's my money?"

We all paused. Nobody spoke. We just stared blankly.

"Is this geezer your boyfriend?" Charlie blurted out.

"I umm…" Hope blushed, looking embarrassed at this situation. "You're Avery?"

"That's right honey." Avery sneered. "Now if you'll please, the money?"

Kyle started bursting out laughing. I elbowed him trying to shut him up, but a snicker escaped my lips as well. Hope stepped behind me, looking humiliated.

"Definitely a bad relationship." I reminded her.

"Beat it old man." Kyle shooed him with his hand. "You're done taking advantage of this young lady's generosity."

"I'm most certainly not!" Avery spat. "If I don't get that money right now, I'm telling everyone you're not a real Nurse Joy."

"I should have never told you that, but it doesn't matter now anyway." Hope interjected. "Everyone already knows. You must have missed the news last night and this morning, but I'm free to take care of this center as I really am."

"Really?" Avery sulked. "Now how am I going to be able to buy those fancy gold teeth?"

We again, all stared at the man blankly.

"Gold teeth?" Charlie chuckled.

"Darn tootin'!" Avery shook his cane. "My buddy who works at the Safari Zone in Kanto has a pair. He said they work great. They have to work better than these accursed things." We stood in shock as he took his false teeth out. "Wull baby, you'we mah gurlfwiend, so would ya cwean mah teef?"

"Gross!" Hope ran inside the pokemon center, looking disgusted.

Now that she was gone, we all burst into laughter. All except Avery, who looked confused.

"Geezer, I think you just got dumped." Charlie laughed.

"You'd better head on out of here." Kyle snickered.

"Seriously." I giggled. "Go save up for your own gold teeth, cause you're not getting any sympathy out of us."

"Ah Shwucks." The man stuck his teeth back in his mouth. "Young people today." He tossed his cane into his car, jumped in and sped away.

"What a old pervert." Kyle said, watching him drive off onto the snowy road. "Picking on your friend like that."

"My friend?" I looked up at him.

"Well yeah!" Charlie laughed again. "You two seem like great friends to me."

I thought about this. It was true. But, it made me wonder what happened to my other friend, Erica. _Where could she be?_

"Go to her." Kyle smiled. "She could use some support right now."

"You're right." I smiled back, glad that some of the tension between us was melting away.

"Kyle," Charlie turned to him, pulling out loads of equipment from the news van. "Think you could help me get set up for your big exclusive?"

"Sure." Kyle sighed, taking an armful of cameras and lights. "See you in a while Shonna."

"Right." I rushed into the pokemon center's back room, finding Hope sitting in a chair, face in her hands. She looked up at me.

"Shonna, I feel so stupid right now." She sighed.

"Don't worry." I sat down beside her. Her room back here was very whimsical, with little country accents. "Just try to not look for love on the internet from now on."

She smiled a little. "Good advice. Then again, I'm sure you're an expert."

"Huh?"

"You and Kyle." She placed her hands in her lap. "You both always look so happy together."

I blushed. "I guess so. But, we really haven't been dating long. And, he's been sort of distant since this morning. It's like he's hiding something." I hung my head.

"Hmm…" Hope frowned. "Maybe he's just got a lot on his mind. He probably wants to kill whoever did that to you last night."

I felt my body go a little cold. I'd been keeping busy, and almost put that incident out my mind.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to stir up bad memories. I just wanted to say how sorry I am for that happening. It's just awful." Hope looked at the ground. "I hope the police catch him soon." When I didn't say anything, she continued. "But back to what we were talking about. I obviously suck at finding men. Tell me how you met Kyle. Please?"

She looked at me as if she genuinely wanted to know, so I put my thoughts behind me to answer. "Well, it started out in a weird way. The first time I met him, was when his growlithe saved me and my meowth, now a persian named Duchess, from being attacked by a bunch of wild dog pokemon."

"What a hero." Hope grinned.

"Not quite." I laughed. "I found out later that it was not by his command, but when he heard the commotion, he came out and helped me up. Then just as mysteriously as he appeared, he ran off. After that, I saw him off and on during my journey. We were sort of rivals. Not too long after that though, I asked him to take care of a pichu for me, and accompany me on my journey. That's when we started traveling together."

"I remember seeing pictures of him with that pichu on his shoulder!" Hope giggled, twirling one of her soft brown braids. "I always thought it was so sweet that a tough guy like him would have a cute little pichu."

"Yeah I'm sure he was a real lady killer with that." I chuckled. "After we competed in the league, I realized I was quickly falling for him, and decided to leave and head back home here in Sinnoh." I sighed. "I think he still resents me a bit for leaving him like that."

"Oh." Hope listened intently.

"But, by some twist of fate, he came back to me." I gazed up at the ceiling. "And right in the middle of hurricane, we confessed our love for each other."

"A hurricane?" Hope's eyes grew wide. "That's so crazy and romantic!"

"I know." I blushed once more, before letting out a big yawn.

"Sleepy?" Hope chuckled, straightening out her pink nurse joy dress. "You should go on back to bed. I'm sure we can figure out the whole pokemon master exclusive thing without you."

"Really?" I stood up. "That would be great."

"Go on." Hope handed me a key. "Kyle has the other one, but here's the spare. I'll tell him you're resting."

"You're the best Hope." I took the key and headed out. As I walked down the hall, Jane passed by me walking briskly. She was all dolled up in her full hair and makeup again. She gave me a look, but didn't say anything as she raced toward the lobby. "Whatever." I rolled my eyes as I opened the door to our room. I flopped down on the bed smiling. "I'll just nap here for a little while…"


	37. An Elusive Exclusive!

**x-x-x**

Episode 36: An Elusive Exclusive!

Kyle sucked in a deep breath as the bright lights flared in his glasses. Charlie had lights and cameras set up in all different areas to capture different views. And he now was sitting uncomfortably in a plush seat directly across from Jane, who was feverishly adjusting her hair. He felt like a guest on a talk show, and they'd already been interviewing him for fifteen minutes.

"Okay. Break's over." Jane pointed to Charlie, who glanced up at her from above his coffee.

"Already?" He sat his mug down on the table and got behind his camera.

"Yes." Jane waited until the light on the camera turned green before turning to Kyle. "So Kyle, you've told us your story of your time in Kanto. Now please inform us of your exploits in Johto."

"No." Kyle looked at her sternly, catching her off guard. "That's a story I'll never tell to the press. Sorry."

Jane pressed a microphone against her lips. "Why ever not?"

"Sorry, but I just won't." Kyle closed his eyes, trying not to dwell on that time. "But I do recall a certain stubborn reporter at the Johto championship."

Jane looked flustered. "Yes. Jubilife News asked me to interview some of the contestants from a different league. And yours, however brief it was, got the most ratings."

"So they asked you then to follow me all through Hoenn?" Kyle grinned.

"Indeed." She nodded. "And you made it very difficult."

"I was in a bad place then. I certainly didn't want a tv crew scrutinizing my every move."

"Well that is my job." Jane said angrily. "Or at least it was." She mumbled. "But this isn't an interview on me. Tell us more about you and your travels."

"Honestly not much happened to me during Hoenn though. I just struggled to get through it as fast as I could."

"And why did you do that anyway?" Jane adjusted her ivory colored skirt. "We've all heard how you beat the Johto league in six months. You got through Hoenn in around a year. Why so quickly?"

"In order to get here to Sinnoh." Kyle leaned back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head. "I had somewhere to go here. But regardless of that, I took my time getting to Solacean Town."

"Oh?" Jane leaned forward. "Just what was so pressing in that small town?"

"Shonna." Kyle felt a slight blush. "Shonna was waiting for me there."

Jane leaned back, looking a bit disappointed. "I see. I must say. I was surprised to see you here in Sinnoh. You came here just for that?"

"Well, of course I wanted to compete in the league as well." Kyle tapped a foot against the floor. "But yes, I came for her."

Jane looked away. "You're going to make the ladies out there swoon."

Kyle shrugged.

"Anyway. I have some generic questions for you as well. Not so personal." Jane pulled out a list. "First off, tell us about the famous Arcanine you carry around your neck there."

"Arcanine?" Kyle touched the pokeball resting on his chest.

"And he's your real powerhouse on your team, isn't he?"

"Well yes. But it's more than that. He's my best buddy. He's always been there for me. We're inseparable."

Jane smiled. "And your other pokemon?"

"I love them all. I like to switch them up every now and then, but I have a team set up for here in Sinnoh."

"Mind giving us some insight on your team?"

Kyle was hesitant. "Sure. Guess it can't hurt. There's my other powerhouses, Scizor and Charmeleon. Then Absol and Skarmory, which I'm working on training more. And lastly, I have a Munchlax and a Jolteon. But, they're only babies right now. They're still learning."

Jane counted on her fingers. "That's seven."

"Well, like I said, I like to switch them up." Kyle ran a hand through his reddish brown hair. "Like, if I ever need to surf around, I bring back Gyarados to my team."

"That makes sense." Jane nodded. "That way you could give everyone a chance to train."

"Exactly." He smiled.

"How old are you Kyle?" Jane smiled into the camera.

"I'm 18. Soon to be 19 though, in one week."

"Well! Happy birthday, though its early." A flush came across Jane's cheeks.

"Thanks I guess."

"Just how many badges do you have anyway?"

"31 as of now, and before you ask, I only have one left to get in Sinnoh." He nodded.

Jane trailed a finger down her list. "How do you prefer to travel? Do you still ride your red bike a lot?"

"I do ride it from time to time, but lately Shonna and I have been riding on my Arcanine. His thick fur makes it better for getting around in this snowy town. So, it just depends on the climate I suppose. And personal preference."

"Here's another question I had for you." Jane studied her list. "Just what keeps you going on these adventures?"

"Shonna." Kyle smiled again. "The driving factor has always been Shonna. Even if I didn't know it at the time."

Jane snorted. "Kyle, what's the secret to becoming a good trainer and what qualities do you look for when you are catching pokemon?"

Kyle sucked in a breath again. This had a long, contemplative answer. "All pokemon are different, regardless of what people say. You could catch 1000 pidgeys, and I guarantee you that every one of them will have their own needs that differ from the rest. When you are catching a pokemon you have no idea what it is going to be like, but you have to work yourself around that pokemon, not it around you. Trusting in my pokemon, that is the key in my opinion. To me my pokemon are not just members of my party, but instead they are my family and friends. We work together, through everything, and we trust one another. That's my secret."

Jane smiled once more into the camera. "You heard it here first folks. The famous Kyle Gray has finally spoke. What insight that will give to all of the young trainers out there? This is Jane with Jubilife News, signing off." She sighed. "Cut." She looked to Charlie. "Wrap it up. That should be good."

"Okay! I'll send it over to HQ through the PC right now Jane!" Charlie popped out the tape, rushing out of the room.

"Glad that's over with." Kyle stood up.

"Wait! Sit back down please." Jane said, tossing her mic off. "I have a question for you. Off the record."

Kyle sat back down impatiently. "Make it quick Jane."

**x-x-x**

I stirred about an hour later to light knocking on the door. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Shonna. It's Hope. I'm sorry to bother you, but Charlie said the interview's all done. Come in here whenever you're ready." I heard her footsteps walk away.

I made my way out and into the lobby. Hope pointed from the reception desk, over to a well-lit room in the back. I made my way over, leaving the spare key I'd borrowed earlier with her. I noticed Charlie over at the PC in the corner doing something. Stepping into the doorway, I could see bright lights focused on Kyle and Jane, who were sitting across from each other, but the rest of the room was actually quite dark. "Why are they still here?" I whispered. "I thought the interview was over."

Jane crossed one leg over her other, leaning forward a bit. "Kyle, why don't we get out of here for a while. I'll buy you a drink."

Kyle laughed. "I'm too young. Remember?"

"Fine, then let's just go out somewhere. Blondie's still curled up asleep somewhere right?"

I could feel my blood boil. But, I was interested to see the answer to this question.

Kyle smiled before standing up. "I don't think you're getting what I'm trying to tell you Jane. You're too old for me. Besides, I love that blondie, and I'd never go out on her."

Jane grew livid. "I'm not that old!" She stood up, looking resilient. "You just wait Kyle. One of these days she's going to walk out on you like she did back in Kanto, then you'll wish you had…"

"Shut up." Kyle glared at her, before turning toward the door. It was then that he noticed me there. Jane turned to look at me as well, but didn't seem phased by my presence.

I smiled widely at both of them. "You know what? I was just about to fix some hot cocoa. Would you like some Kyle?"

"Sure." He smiled slightly before walking passed me out the room.

"Jane? How about you?" I smiled warmly at her.

"No. Thanks." She turned away, looking a little guilty now.

I turned back to the room where Kyle, Charlie and Hope stood. "How about we all have some hot chocolate and watch a movie together?"

"That sounds like fun!" Hope smiled. We can watch it right here in the lobby. There's a big screen and some couches over there."

"I'll stick with my coffee." Charlie held up his mug. "But a movie sounds good. I don't have anything better to do until HQ approves the tape I sent in. That'll be a while."

"Is it okay though?" Kyle looked to Hope.

"Yes. The center has been really quiet today. But if anyone does come in I'll be here to help them." She blushed. "I have one in the back I've been wanting to watch, but it's a romantic comedy."

"Chick flick." Charlie sipped on his coffee, turning to Kyle.

"Sounds like it." He laughed.

We got the hot cocoa, and some popcorn, and all sat down to watch the movie. Kyle and I took one long couch, and Hope sat beside me. Charlie sat adjacent, on another couch. I wrapped my arms around one of Kyle's, resting my head on his shoulder. He smiled at me before turning back to the movie.

It wasn't too much longer before Jane plopped down on the sofa beside Charlie.

Charlie offered his popcorn to her. "Want some?"

"Sure." She took a handful and ate each one piece by piece.


	38. The Cold Shoulder!

**x-x-x**

Episode 37: The Cold Shoulder!

I awoke the next morning, to again see Kyle watching the tv. The league competition was on, showing Cynthia with her blonde hair waving wildly in the wind.

"And now," The announcer blared. "Cynthia will face our challenger! This young man has come very far, and defeated the elite four, but can he face up to the our champion? Oh! Here he comes now." The camera panned to the large door to the stadium. A shadowy figure appeared, just as I turned off the tv.

"Hey! I was watching that." Kyle turned all the way around to look at me.

"We need to get going." I said, grabbing my purse. "I promised Candice I'd be there bright and early."

"I'd just turned it on too! I didn't even get to see the new challenger." Kyle pouted.

"Don't worry." I slung my bag over my shoulder. "Cynthia will win. She always does."

"Well then." Kyle stood up, ruffling my hair a bit. "You might want to look in the mirror before you leave."

I walked into the bathroom, seeing my reflection. My hair was normally frizzed up on top, but today it looked almost like a Tangela. I laughed. "Wow. Pretty bad."

Kyle chuckled, sitting the key beside the sink. "I'm going to go see what everyone's up to. See you in the lobby later?"

"Yep." I leaned in to gently kiss him on the lips. "I'll be there."

He smiled sweetly before leaving the room.

I pulled out from my purse a miniature hairbrush, and began combing through my thick hair. I suppose a normal woman like Jane would have been ashamed for the object of their affections to see them with such tangles. But it was no big deal to me. It probably was, when I first started traveling with him back in Kanto, but now I didn't even think about it. Kyle had seen me at my best hair days, and my worst.

The brush bumped against my glasses, making them fall to the floor. I leaned down to get them, and stared at the tv on my way up. _What would he do once this league was over? Would he try to find other leagues to compete in? _

I put the hairbrush away, glasses on my face and smiled. _What he didn't know, was that whatever he does, I plan to stick by his side, no matter what. Even if it meant having to leave my position at the day-care center. From now on, I want to always be with him._

**x-x-x**

I walked out into the lobby, feeling much better about my hair. Kyle and Hope were talking about something, and Jane and Charlie were huddled by the center's phone.

"What's going on?" I approached Hope.

She smiled sadly. "They're expecting a call from the news station."

Almost as if on cue, the phone rang. Charlie and Jane literally fought over the phone. Their hands grabbed at it greedily, before Jane gave Charlie a look to make him back down.

"Hello?" Jane held the phone in both hands pressed against her ear. "Yes Boss?" Her hands started trembling. "Seriously?" A big smile appeared on her bright red lips. "Yes of course! I understand. Right away sir!" She hung up the phone, and turned to us. "He said he loved the exclusive. He wants me and Charlie back to work right away!"

"That's great Jane!" Charlie rushed to try and hug her, but she ran to Kyle's arms.

"Thank you so much Kyle! You got my job back!" She tried to throw her arms around him, but he gently shoved her away.

"It was my idea." I muttered. "Where's my hug?"

Jane glared at me.

"Well!" Hope laughed. "I vote we all go watch Shonna's gym battle to celebrate." She turned to a Chansey. "You can take care of the place for a while right?" She placed a beeper in the pokemon's chubby pink hands. "You press this button if any emergencies come in."

"Chan-sey!" Chansey danced and twirled.

"Sounds like a deal!" Hope giggled, grabbing her coat.

"I'd love that!" Charlie jumped up. "I remember seeing a gym battle once! It was really cool!" He paused. "For some reason I feel strange about it though… like I didn't like it much at the time."

I felt bad for him. _What if his fear of pokemon came back?_

"Well anyway, I'd love to go." Charlie smiled.

"I'd like to as well." Jane grinned.

"You're just looking to score another interview." Kyle glowered. "Well I've got no comments today."

"Yeah besides that Jane," Charlie twisted his ball cap around on his head. "I'm not bringing the camera today. I want to enjoy this."

"Fine whatever." Jane sulked.

"Then I'll lead the way!" I headed out the center's doors. "To the Snowpoint Gym!"

**x-x-x**

Candice tapped her foot impatiently as we flooded into her gym. The kids started to act up, asking all sorts of questions about the new members of my group.

"We're here!" I yelled across the gym.

"I see that." Candice beamed. "And I see you brought some friends." She walked circles around us, inspecting. "We've got the pokemon master, Nurse Hope, the missing reporter, and her doting cameraman."

"Doting?" Jane winced.

"I'm ready for my battle!" I jumped a little in excitement.

"First," Candice pointed to the children in the stands. "Apologize."

"Oh yeah." I hung my head a bit as the rest of the group, besides Candice and me, took to the bleachers. "Well, I'm sorry for last time. You all really should stick with school for as long as you see fit. I know I didn't enjoy it, but I did learn some very important facts about pokemon that have benefitted me not only in training, but also at my job at the day care center. Thanks to all my experience and book learning, I know almost every species of pokemon out there. So whenever I encounter a new one, I don't have to consult a guidebook or one of those expensive pokedexes. For that, I'm very grateful."

Some of the kids nodded in agreement and whispered to their fellow classmates.

I turned to Candice, who'd walked to the opposite end of the stadium. "That good?"

"Perfect." She said. "Now let's get this battle started!" She twirled on her heels again. "Three on three okay?"

"Fine by me." I opened up my purse to be ready for whatever she threw at me.

"Go Medicham!" She called, tossing the fighting type onto the icy stage.

"A medicham?" I was confused now. "But that's not an ice type."

"As long as it has a move qualified as ice, any pokemon is allowed for a gym leader, with special permission. And I can only have one in my party like that." Candice turned to her students. "Did you get all that? It will be on the test!"

All the students suddenly looked nervous as they dug out their pencils and notebooks.

_I remember being like that, young and studious. _I turned back to the battle, touching each pokeball in my purse. _Medicham's part psychic type. So Lucario's dark move would be great. Not to mention, if Medicham has any fighting moves to use against him, they won't be very effective. Then again, same goes for me._ "Eh, alright. Go Lucario!"

He bounded out of his pokeball and onto the slippery stage. He slid a bit, but caught himself and skidded to a stop. I was suddenly very glad we'd taken the time to train on that frozen lake.

"Medicham!" Candice called. "You know what to do."

Medicham stood on one foot, looking very reflective. It closed its eyes as power surged through him. I waited for its move, but none came.

"_Mom! You know what he's doing right?"_ Lucario turned to me, sending me mental pictures of our fight back in Veilstone with a meditite.

"Ack. You're right Lucario! It's meditating! Get in there and stop it!" I screamed.

Lucario took after him, force palming him to the ground. Medicham smiled, as if it had accomplished what it needed to.

"That was dumb of me." I whispered. "That was the same opening move Maylene had used. But I wonder how they knew. Couldn't be coincidence." It clicked with me then. "Hey Candice, you're friends with the gym leader in Veilstone right? I remember now. Maylene told me to say hello to you!"

"That's true." Candice grinned. "She's one of my best friends. We've known each other for a long time."

"Well, it shows in your batting." I smiled. "Lucario! Bone Rush!"

Lucario formed his club and began slamming it against Medicham, but it matched each blow for blow with a defensive kick or punch.

"Wait for it…" I whispered, watching as Medicham drew closer, trying to get a strike in. "Now! Dark Pulse!"

I heard Lucario growl as the violet energy surged out of him in a powerful blast. It flew out in all directions, knocking Medicham backward, and into the air.

"That hurt." Candice winced. "Hi Jump Kick now Medicham!"

"Dodge it!" I called.

Medicham twisted in the air, kicking off the icy rock it was about to smash into. It leaped forward, slinging its foot toward Lucario. Lucario waited until the last possible second, and leaped away, sticking the club he still clutched out and tripping Medicham. It flew into the ice, sliding into a rock.

"Yes!" I cheered. Medicham laid on the ground near Lucario, looking defeated.

"Ice Punch!" Candice yelled.

I was surprised, since I assumed she was going to recall him. Suddenly Medicham leaped up, and into Lucario, striking him on the chest. I could see Medicham cringe from touching the long spike on Lucario, but then a shiny blue crystal formed around the spike. "Oh no. No!" Nothing I could say could stop the onslaught of ice that engulfed Lucario. He was frozen solid.

Candice's chuckling echoed through the room. "I bet you thought my pokemon was down and out, but now it looks like we've turned the tables on you."

Medicham looked weak, but thrilled to have won.

I glared at her, before glancing down to Lucario's frozen body. "We're not done yet."

**x-x-x**

Kyle smiled watching her from the stands. He'd been very impressed with her all along, but every time he watched her battle, she impressed him even more.

"Well, that's one's through." Jane leaned back, looking bored.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Kyle pointed to Shonna. "Just look."

"What is she doing Kyle?" Hope leaned forward. "It looks like she's concentrating really hard on something."

"She's speaking to Lucario." Kyle answered.

"What really?" Charlie leaned forward now as well. "She can do that?"

"Yes." Kyle nodded. "She can speak telepathically with him."

"That's so cool!" Charlie watched in awe, along with Hope.

Jane opened one eye to watch the battle, still pretending to be bored.

"Hey Mister." A little girl behind Kyle tapped his shoulder. "Can she really talk to her pokemon, even through ice?"

"Well," Kyle laughed. "I'm not sure she's ever tried." He could see Shonna whispering something, but it was impossible to make out from this distance.

"Cham?" Medicham stepped back, looking nervous as a tiny crack appeared on the frozen statue.

"What? No way!" Candice leaned in to try and see better.

Then, Lucario used dark pulse to burst out of the ice, making ice crystals fly in every direction. He continued his attack by hitting Medicham in the gut hard with his bone club.

"Chammmmm!" Medicham flew backwards, sliding across the ice. He was knocked out before he even hit the rock formation behind him.

"Great. So you can will your pokemon out of a frozen state with no items." Candice recalled Medicham. "That's just wonderful."

"I just have a really good relationship with my pokemon, that's all." Shonna said sheepishly.

"Hmph." Candice tossed out another pokeball, releasing a Froslass. "So do I you know."

Kyle watched Lucario. He looked a little cold, but otherwise in good spirits. He pushed his paws together, destroying his aura club. This probably meant that Shonna planned to recall him soon. As he thought this, she zapped him back to his pokeball.

"That's so cool." A little boy sitting nearby sulked. "I hope someday I can talk with my pokemon like that."

"Hey now." Kyle turned to him. "Even if your pokemon can't learn the human tongue, you can still talk with them. They make great listeners, and honestly Arcanine and I can understand each other just fine."

The boy smiled, taking down some notes. "Thanks Mister Pokemon Master."

Kyle turned back to the battle. Shonna released Luxray onto the stage. Luxray growled, using his intimidate ability to the fullest. The Froslass flew backwards a bit in fear. Luxray's eyes gleamed red.

He looked down to the ground now. Red eyes, just like someone else he remembered. Ricky was dead. There was no way he could have been back here in this town. Someone must have found out about his story, and used it to try and get close to Shonna. That's the only possible explanation.

He clinched his fist tight, slamming it against the seat. Hope turned to him, giving him a concerned look. Kyle looked away, back to Shonna. She stopped to wave at him. She was taking this much better than he was. He knew though, that for as much as he didn't want to, he'd have to tell her the whole story eventually.

**x-x-x**

I waved at Kyle who sat in the stands. He put on a very fake smile. I frowned, looking back to the battle. Luxray was skating around the rink gracefully, awaiting my order. "Luxray! Start out with a Shock Wave!" Luxray charged up and released its electricity. Froslass squirmed in the grasp of the unavoidable attack.

"Lass!" The pretty pokemon twirled under the electricity.

"Use our Confuse Ray/Ice Beam combo Froslass!" Candice looked excited now. "Then take cover!"

Froslass's icy blue eyes captivated Luxray, and a ray of violet hit him hard. Luxray shook his head in recoil. By the time he looked back up, Froslass had already formed a ring of ice around him, and floated behind it. Without command, it used Double Team to form all sorts of images of Froslass floating behind the reflective surface.

I looked closely. I could pick out the real one, but in Luxray's confused state, I doubted that he could tell this any different from a house of mirrors. "Luxray! Iron Tail!" I knew he had about a one in ten chance of getting it right.

Luxray tried to shake off the confusion. His tail turned silver, as he struck an area in the wall. It wasn't the right one. The real Froslass popped over the ice, shooting an ice beam at him, freezing his tail before he could jump away.

"Darn. That's going to weigh him down." I twisted a piece of my hair nervously.

Candice laughed. "Froslass! Use Hail!"

"Lasssss!" Froslass twirled mid air, as chunks of ice began falling all around the stadium. Luxray closed his eyes as he got pelted by pieces.

If he tried to strike each chunk, it'd never work. But as I watched Froslass and Candice twirl in unison, an idea came to me. "Luxray! Twirl on the ice! Tail up!"

Luxray's confusion was starting to wear off. He nodded, doing something along the lines of break dancing on the ice. His ice-covered tail held high, disintegrating any ice that neared him. It served well to protect him, and once the hail subsided, the ice around his tail cracked off. He jumped up with a grin on his face, looking pleased with himself.

"No way! I must say I've never seen anything like that." Candice laughed. "Froslass! This time try to get all of it with your Ice Beam so it can't dance its way out of it!"

"Lass!" Froslass opened its mouth, taking aim.

I watched happily as Luxray skated effortless across the ice, staying just out of reach from the Ice Beam that followed him. He took shelter behind one of the gym's many icy rocks along the edge. "Get in there and use Thunder Fang!" I called, knowing he'd know just how to go about it.

Froslass continued to shoot out ice beams, making the ice grow. From the other side, Luxray extended his claws, crawling and climbing high up the structure, staying just out of reach from the beam. When he was just as high up in the air as Froslass, he swung an Iron Tail into the ice, breaking it into large chunks.

"Lass?" Froslass stopped its ice beam in surprise as Luxray leaped from one flying chunk of ice to another.

"Rayyyyy!" Luxray roared, opening its electrified jaws. It grabbed Froslass midair, bringing it down with a powerful charge.

"Lassssssssss!" Froslass cried out in pain.

Candice readied her pokeball, knowing it had knocked it out.

Once he'd landed, he scratched his claws against the ice, bringing himself to a stop. He looked sort of guilty as he set the Froslass down gently on the ice.

"Froslass return." Candice held her pokeball as it zapped inside. "Great job."

"Is it okay?" I yelled across to her.

"Yeah. She'll be fine. I think you scared her more than anything."

Luxray gave her a funny look. I don't think he realized just how intimidating he was now. I chuckled at him.

"I must say. You're doing really well today!" Candice beamed. "But I didn't expect any less from one of our school's own." Candice grinned, holding out her new pokeball. "But I'm not playing the defensive card anymore. It's all offense from here. Go Abomasnow!"

A familiar sight, the monstrous pokemon stood tall on the ice, roaring at me.

"Well, it can't hurt to try this." I returned Luxray and tossed out my next pokeball. "Go Grotle!"

**x-x-x**

"She's done for." Jane said smiling a bit. "That's a grass type. And grass against ice will never work."

"You think?" Charlie looked at her.

"Yep. Not to mention it's so heavy. It will never be able to maneuver around the ice quick enough to avoid its attacks."

"You know a bit more about pokemon than I thought Jane. I'm impressed." Kyle said calmly. "I'll admit it's a bad matchup, but Shonna must have a plan."

Jane blushed, turning away. "You just have too much confidence in her, that's all."

"I don't know." Kyle stared up at her. "I've seen her in a lot of battles. She rarely loses, and she knows how to get herself out of a tight spot, which helps a lot."

"Still, she won't last in a battle against you in the league competition, so why is she even trying to get the badges?" Jane yelled loudly, making some of the children turn to look at her.

"Don't say that." Kyle glared. "She'll mop the floor at that competition."

"Or just clean it up for you." Jane grumbled.

**x-x-x**

Jane was loud enough that I could hear her comment about me and the badges. I sighed, turning back to Grotle. _Why was I doing this?_

"Not going to make a move?" Candice grinned. "Then I will. Abomasnow Wood Hammer!"

The wooden mallet appeared in its hands as it ran toward Grotle. Grotle instinctively withdrew into his shell. Abomasnow struck him, turning the battle into a sort of hockey game as Grotle's shell flew across the ice. When it was safe, he popped his head out to look at me.

"Grot! Grotle!" He growled, trying to get my attention.

"Yeah!" I shook off my dismay. "Get him Grotle! Use Rock Climb!"

Grotle's claws extended off his flat feet, digging into the ice. He took off, moving swiftly on the slick surface. Abomasnow threw its hammer at him in an attempt to stop him, but Grotle dodged. And as he continued his pursuit, I noticed him envelope himself in white light. The shrub on his back grew to the height of a small tree, and his eyes looked sharper. He was now a Torterra.

"Yes!" I cheered. "I knew that was going to happen soon."

"What?" Candice looked shocked. "Abomasnow! Stop it with a Blizzard!"

"Aboma!" Abomasnow roared, whipping up a wind of ice and snow. I huddled in my coat as I watched ice form on the branches of the tree on Torterra's back. Despite this, he kept running forward. Instead of going straight on, he moved to the left, climbing up a rock with his claws, and once he reached its apex, he leaped off, smashing into Abomasnow's side.

"Snow!" Abomasnow reeled from my spiky pokemon's blow.

Torterra landed, cracking the ice around him. He was so heavy, I'm surprised he didn't sink through. "Hey!" A lightbulb went off in my head. "Now there's an idea."

"Abomasnow!" Candice tossed back one of her long black pigtails. "No more kidding around! Use Sheer Cold!"

The same giant deadly icicle I remembered formed in Abomasnow's mouth. Torterra wouldn't be fast enough to avoid it at this close range, so there was only one choice. "Torterra! Earthquake!" I prayed the new move I was teaching him would pull though.

"Terra!" Torterra lifted up its front feet, slamming them back down on the ground. Nothing happened. Abomasnow readied its attack, taking aim, when cracks ran on the ice below it. I had to grip onto the railing of my side of the gym. The place was shaking! Some of the kids started screaming. Abomasnow was just about to deliver the final blow when the ice crumbled below him. His attack went flying into the air, causing ice to form on the ceiling.

"Snow!" Abomasnow struggled to swim in the pool. His soggy fur weighed him down.

"Déjà vu." Candice rolled her eyes.

"Razor Leaf!" I knew it wouldn't do much, but I didn't know what else to do really. Torterra stood from his undamaged part of the floor, shooting leaves at Abomasnow.

"Blizzard!"

Abomasnow whipped up another blizzard that froze his leaves mid air, making them drop into the water. The cold attack was super effective against Torterra, freezing his feet to the floor. Abomasnow climbed out of the pool, standing over him, letting out an icicle.

"Oh no!" I tried to find Torterra's pokeball, but it'd slipped to the bottom of my purse. Abomasnow released Sheer Cold on Torterra, encasing him in ice instantly. He was knocked out and frozen.

"Just try and talk your way out of that one." Candice grinned.

"Can't do that." I laughed. "Return Torterra." I held the pokeball in my hands. "You did great. I'm so proud of you."

"Get to fixing the gym back!" Candice called out. Abomasnow began pouring snow on the broken portion of the gym.

"Lucario! I need your help again!" I tossed out his pokeball. "You're the only one agile enough for this."

Lucario bounded out of his pokeball, taking stage once more. He looked back at me with vigor. _"Should we try that one move?"_

"No." I whispered. "Not the aura sphere. You haven't got that down just yet." I grinned, looking toward him. "Get on the ice blocks!"

Lucario leaped for a floating pedestal of ice, turning toward Abomasnow.

"Abomasnow! There's still a chance!" Candice cried. "Sheer Cold!"

"Snooooow!" Abomasnow threw one large icicle after another. After each one, Lucario would leap to a new iceberg, effectively avoiding the attacks. If anything, Abomasnow only made the icebergs bigger, making it all that much easier for him.

"Lucario! Now! Dark Pulse!" I screamed. "And for good measure, a Force Palm afterwards!"

"Rarrrrr!" Lucario growled, releasing all that pent up dark energy. It hit Abomasnow hard, making him fall on the ice. Lucario rushed in close, smacking him across the face with aura. When Abomasnow's head stopped bobbing, his eyes closed and he fainted.

"Return!" Candice returned him swiftly. "Very good. You won, just as I thought."

"We both did great." I rushed over to the other end of the gym to meet her.

"Congratulations." She pushed something into my palm. "Here's the icicle badge."

"Awesome." I rubbed my finger across its shiny surface, then held it up for everyone to see. All the kids cheered, and everyone with the exception of Jane, clapped for me.

Kyle, Hope, Jane and Charlie all ran down to us.

"That was so cool!" Charlie yelled.

"You did well Shonna." Kyle nodded.

Jane didn't speak.

"You did so great Shonna!" Hope threw her arms around me. "That was so exciting! I'm going to have to come watch trainers battle here more often! If I can that is…"

"We'd be happy to have you." Candice beamed. "Besides, it saves me the trouble of having to come to the center later!" Candice placed three pokeballs in her hands. "Will you please?"

"Of course." Hope let go of me and pocketed the pokeballs. "I'll head right back and heal them. You can come back and pick them up anytime."

"Great." Candice turned to the students. "Did you guys have fun?"

"Yeah!" All the kids yelled in unison.

"Good! Because when we get back to the school we're having a quiz on it."

Now there was a groan in unison across the bleachers.

"Hehe." I giggled, looking to Kyle. "Well, there's not much more we can do here."

Charlie turned, looking sad. "Are you leaving already?"

I looked down at the floor. "It seems like we've been here forever, but we really need to move on…"

"One more night." Kyle looked at me. "One more night won't hurt."

"Cool." Charlie turned to Jane. "One more night of no chasing after them for interviews then, okay?"

Jane mumbled something inaudible.

"That's great!" Hope smiled. "Let's all head back to the center then."

And that's just what we did. We spent another night watching some old movie from Hope's collection. I noticed it got even a chuckle out of Jane, who sat unusually closer to Charlie. I found time to waste the rest of the film on my camera, just on us goofing off. I couldn't help but think that by some chance, we'd all become friends in this town. Jane and Charlie included.

After that, I asked Hope to take a look at Staraptor. She brought me back to one of the rooms in the back where it was quiet. I released Staraptor onto a table.

"Everything looks like it's going according to schedule. Some more rest in her pokeball will do her good." Hope moved her wing around in the splint.

"Star." Staraptor winced a bit. I pet her head, calming her.

"Yep. More rest. That's my order."

"Thanks Hope." I recalled her. "I'll make sure she gets it."

"I know you will." She looked down. "So you're really leaving tomorrow?"

I looked down as well. "Yeah."

"I'll miss you. I can't thank you enough for all you've done."

I smiled. "Don't worry, there's always video phone. Can I have your number?"

"Sure!" She scribbled down something on her clipboard before tearing the paper off and handing it to me. "It's the number for the center."

"Thanks." I stuck it in my purse. "I'll be sure to call you when I can."

"I'd like that." Hope smiled warmly. "You have a great journey Shonna. I'll be rooting for you in the league."

"Thanks." I laughed. "I'll need all the help I can get to beat Kyle in battle."


	39. A Cave to Canalave!

**x-x-x**

Episode 38: A Cave to Canalave!

We woke up bright and early, heading out the pokemon center doors. I waved through the glass at Hope.

"So," Jane eyed us wearily. "It's a new day. Now, how about another interview?" She shoved a microphone in Kyle's face.

"Oh no you don't!" Charlie grabbed her arm dragging her to their van. "We've got to at least give them a head start."

"Let me go!" Jane squirmed.

"You two take care!" Charlie waved with his other hand. "We'll be seeing you!"

"I know." Kyle waved, smiling. "You too."

Charlie shoved Jane into the passenger seat, and ran for the driver's. They took off in the van, down the snowy road.

"There they go." I sighed.

"Same goes for us." Kyle released the capsule that magically unfolded his bike. "Mind if we ride on this today?"

"That's fine." I took my usual seat behind Kyle, nestled against his back. I wrapped my arms around him, as we sped down the road.

The heat was on full blast, but I couldn't help having a chill run up my spine as we passed through the south side of the city. Kyle sped up, passing the docks and old factories. I buried my face in his back as we raced by the old sugar mill and pokemart.

Kyle broke the silence. "According to the map, there should be a tunnel up ahead that moves through Mt. Coronet." He pointed to the navigation screen on the red motorcycle. "It will take us to the other side of the region."

"I heard once in a cartoon that if you hold your breath all the way through a tunnel and make a wish, it will come true." I yelled over the hum of the engine.

"I wouldn't try it." He laughed at me. "This is going to be a long one."

"You're not superstitious at all, are you?"

"No." He smiled as we approached the tunnel, turning on the headlights. "But I do believe in love at first sight."

His words surprised me. I almost missed my opportunity. As soon as we passed under a veil of darkness, I sucked in a breath. I could wish for a lot of things, like luck in the league, or my next gym battle, or even a better relationship with my boyfriend, but as I turned back to look at Snowpoint City disappearing in the distance, I knew what I wanted. _I hope that man Ricky, gets caught and imprisoned. And when he does, may he never bother us again._

I watched the light at the end of the tunnel. It looked close, but it never seemed to grow. I nervously gripped onto Kyle's coat.

"Shonna?" Kyle glanced back at me. "Quit that! You're turning blue!"

"Mmm mm!" I shook my head defiantly, keeping my mouth shut.

"Jeez." Kyle twisted the right handle. "Hold on then!"

I nearly ruined it all in a scream as we sped faster than ever on the bike. I clenched my lips together, refusing to do so. We hadn't moved this fast since Officer Jenny chased us in Kanto.

I could see the light grow now, as I struggled to not suck in the air that was whipping by my nostrils. Finally, we emerged on the other side, and I gasped for air, being temporarily blinded by the light. Kyle pulled the motorcycle to a slow stop off the road.

He twisted around in his seat to look at me. " Shonna, don't make me worry about you while I'm driving."

"But I did it!" I beamed. "Aren't you proud?"

"What'd you wish for?"

"I can't tell you! It won't come true."

"Pfft." He looked to the side for a moment. "More superstitions."

I smiled at him. "Another area where we differ."

His eyes met mine with a hard look. He placed one hand on my face, and wrapped the other around my waist. "You'd better take a deep breath again."

"What?" I blushed as he wrapped his arm tighter around me. "Why?"

Suddenly he pulled me toward him, pushing his lips against mine. My eyes were still open in surprise. I tried to pull away after the first kiss, but he held me tight, bringing me in for another, and another. Though it was still frigid from the air around Mt. Coronet, I'm sure any lingering cold was melted away from the heat coursing through my body.

He lifted his lips off of mine, still touching them as he spoke. "Sorry but, I really wanted to do that."

"N-no problem." I stuttered. "Is that what's been bugging you for a while?"

"Nope." He pulled away now, letting his hands drop to his side. "But it made me feel better."

"Well." I looked down to the ground, embarrassed. "Always here to help."

He chuckled. "I love you Shonna."

"Love you too." I said, blushing even more. "But Kyle, will you tell me please? What's been bothering you lately?"

He looked away. "It's kind of a long story."

"We've got time." I reached over to hold one of his hands in mine.

"Okay." He sighed. "I'll tell you."

"Hey! You two!" A man's voice rang out from behind the pines. "You guys pokemon trainers?"

"Yes?" I answered honestly, watching the man come out of the bushes. A young woman walked behind him.

"Then," The girl asked politely. "Would you consider having a battle with us?"

"Yeah!" The guy had a determined look. "We challenge you."

I looked to Kyle. I don't think either of us wanted to right now, but we were both too thick headed and stubborn to back down from a challenge.

**x-x-x**

We of course, beat those trainers, and the next six that approached us after that.

"Jeez. We must be right in the path of a bunch of trainers or something." Kyle held his head. "They just keep coming."

"Yeah." I sighed, feeling tired. They had kept us busy right up into dusk.

"Guess we'll camp here for now." Kyle unfolded a sleeping bag from his backpack. "I'll go gather some wood to start the fire."

"Kay." I watched him leave, headed into the dark forest. He turned, releasing Arcanine.

"Take care of her boy." I heard him whisper, stroking the dog's fur. "Watch her until I get back."

"Arf." Arcanine trotted over to my side, lying down next to me. I smiled sadly as I pet him. I wondered if it was always going to be like this now. He'd never leave my side without protection. That made me somewhat happy, but at the same time, it reminded me of why I needed that protection in the first place.

"Oh Arcanine." I leaned against him, petting his thick orange fur. "Do you think things will ever be like they used to be?"

"Arf!" He replied, in a cheerful tone.

"You're right." I laid my head on his side. "This will all blow over eventually. But sometime, I'm going to find out what Kyle's keeping from me. It's not anything serious is it?" Arcanine's amber eye's stared back at me. "He doesn't have a secret lover or anything?"

"Arrr?" Arcanine gave me a look of shock.

I laughed. "Just kidding boy." I pat his head. "I know better."

I had to admit, I felt safe beside Kyle's faithful dog. His warm fur was like a blanket. I was lulled to sleep in minutes.

Arcanine watched as the girl fell fast asleep at his side. _She really had no idea what they'd all been through in Johto. He knew Kyle would tell her soon, but it hurt him to think of those memories. _Arcanine lowered his head._ Kyle probably blames himself for what happened, but it wasn't his fault. It was nothing he could have helped. That young man, Ricky, he died by his own insanity._

Kyle would be back soon. Arcanine wrapped his tail around Shonna, closing his eyes, but staying alert to her movement.

Then, his eyes snapped open. A scent flooded his black nose. A scent he recognized and hated. It smelled just as putrid as the first day he'd caught whiff of it in Johto. He jerked his head up in the direction of the smell. He let out a low growl.

_It can't be! It just couldn't be him! _He let the growl intensify in his throat as the scent drew closer. Small embers escaped between his clinched fangs.

Then, just as suddenly as the scent appeared, it vanished without a trace. Arcanine tensed all the muscles in his body, extending his claws, just in case. He glanced down to Shonna. Amazingly, she was still asleep_. If that guy tried anything, he'd take him down._

A twig snapped to the right. Arcanine jerked his head, growling again. A figure appeared in the fog, and he was ready to strike.

"Whoa. Arcanine? You okay boy?" Kyle emerged holding piles of wood in his arms.

Arcanine withdrew a bit, feeling bad for baring his fangs at his trainer. He gave a slight whimper.

"What's wrong boy?" Kyle set the wood down, kneeling to his level. He glanced at Shonna, then back to him. "What happened?"

"Arr. Arf. Ar." Arcanine barked out.

"My god." Kyle looked down to the ground now. "He really is back isn't he?"

**x-x-x**

I was still half asleep when Kyle placed me on his motorcycle the next morning. I wasn't fully aware of what time it was, or how long I stayed in a zombie-like state riding behind him. I held onto him, but I drifted in and out of sleep. It wasn't until we reached a city that I got some serotonin in my system.

I yawned. "Wow. We're already here?"

"This isn't Canalave." Kyle called out. "We're just in Jubilife. Do you still want to stop and have that watch of yours fixed?"

"Yes please." I hugged him, as we pulled to a stop beside the Poketch company. I hopped off the bike, skipping toward the door as Kyle packed it up.

"Shonna!" Kyle screamed, surprising me. He lowered his tone. "Wait for me."

"Oh, right." I twisted around on my feet, looking around at the city. As Kyle finished putting everything away, I looked to the Jubilife TV Station. A huge tv, more like a giant animated billboard, decorated the front. Kyle's interview was playing on the big screen. "You're on tv Kyle!" He glanced up, smiling and shaking his head. "I wonder if Jane and Charlie are in there."

"Let's hope so." Kyle said. "And not out here interviewing."

"I hope they're doing all right." I turned to face the door. "Now?"

"Yes now." He held the door open for me as we walked in. The whole first floor was just a giant shop, where you could purchase them. I approached a clerk behind the desk.

"Excuse me. Can I get this repaired?" I pulled off the watch from my wrist, setting it on the counter.

A lady inspected it. "This is one of the older models. Did you get the extended warranty?"

"No?" I leaned over the counter. "But it's not that old."

"There are newer ones that just came out." The clerk fiddled with my poketch in her hand. "I recommend you just buy a new one."

I frowned in disapproval, as a portly man with a beard and mustache walked up behind her.

"Nonsense Amelia." He snatched my broken poketch out of her hands. "If she wants it fixed, let her get it fixed."

"But sir!" Amelia sulked. "Yes sir. Whatever you say sir."

"And you would be?" I asked.

"The owner of this establishment. I invented the Poketch."

"Oh." I watched as he waddled around the counter. "And you say you can fix it?"

"Well," He inspected the digital screen. "You did a number on it, but yes. I've got quite comfortable with the guys I hired to do this kind of work, but I believe I can still fix it. Hopefully I haven't lost my touch." He laughed, making his stomach jiggle a bit. "Come with me. I'll get it working. I like the older models better anyway."

"Thanks so much!" Me and Kyle followed him up a elevator. I expected him to go to the top floor, but he stopped just one floor up.

"Right through here." He motioned, grabbing a small tool kit from one of his employees. The scientist and researchers turned to look at us, but then went right back to work. The owner unscrewed the back off my watch, inspecting each wire. "There we go. This chip here is shot. I believe we have a spare." He carefully removed it and replaced it with tweezers. "Easy enough."

"Really?" I ran up to look. "You fixed it already?"

"Yes." The man smiled at me. "But would you like some new apps?"

"What's an app?" I questioned.

"I saw that advertised on the signs down there." Kyle spoke up. "Isn't that only on the new ones though?"

"No no." The man laughed again. "The new one is purely different in design. More streamlined, less boxy. This one should be able to support applications too. You just download them with this." He pulled out a wire, hooking it to a computer. "There's all kinds now. There's games and stuff. So it becomes more than a watch."

"That's really cool!" I watched the bar on the screen move to a filled mark.

"How much do we owe you for this?" Kyle began digging out his wallet.

"No charge." The man smiled. "I'm in a good mood today. I gave you a sample of the apps, but if you want anymore you'll have to get online and buy them."

"I can't thank you enough." I took the watch back when it was done downloading. "This is really great." I flipped through the apps, finding the digital clock. It had a little image of a pikachu on it now. "Look Kyle!" I held it up for him to see.

"Cool. I'm glad you like it." He smiled at me, turning back to the man as we headed for the elevator. "Thanks again!"

"Come back anytime!" He waved as the elevator door shut.

"Well. That went well." Kyle noted as we resurfaced on the first floor.

"Sure did." I kept flipping through the apps. "I wonder what this one is."

"Can I see?" He held my wrist up to look. The only thing on the screen was a sort of beacon shaped image. It had some kind of pulsing animation coming off it. "Wow. No clue."

"Hmm…" I played with it as Kyle set up his bike again, and on the ride over. Before I knew it, we were in Canalave City.


	40. Friends Reunite!

**x-x-x**

Episode 39: Friends Reunite!

This city was covered in water transport and docks. But it was much nicer then the scummy slums of Snowpoint. This area was clean, and appealed to tourists. Kyle pulled into the parking lot beside the gym and packed up his bike once more. Before the battle, I wanted to stop and drop off my film at a 1-hour photo place by the library. We did that, and as I walked out the door, something caught my eye. She was headed for the Canalave Library's doors.

"Cynthia!" I cried out to her, making her turn around. Her long blonde hair whipped around. I stared at her, in her black pants, low-cut black top, long black trench coat and strange hairpins that reminded me of the aura sensor things hanging below Lucario's ears. _I want some!_ In every way, from the moment I met her in Pokemon school, this woman was like a big sister to me. She was three years older, making her closer to Kyle's age, but she never treated me badly. In fact, when everyone else bullied me around in that school, she was the only one who stood up for me. As I watched her gracefully cross the street to greet us, I smiled, remembering the times before I dropped out, when she'd invite me over to her grandmother's, and we'd listen to her tell us spooky stories. I'd dropped by from time to time to see them since then, but really, this was the first time I'd seen her in at least a year or two. She was always fairly busy, between her avid researching, and being the league champion. She'd held that position in Sinnoh for quite some time.

"Shonna!" Cynthia swung her arms around me, hugging me close. "I haven't seen you in so long! Look how much you've grown!"

I squirmed out of her hug and examined my height. I was almost as tall as her now, and she was a very tall girl. I looked over to Kyle, realizing that I was around the same height as him now. "Am I really growing?" I chuckled. "Must have hit a growth spurt."

"Must have!" She flicked one of her dangling hairpins back. "I was just here dropping off a new book of lore to the library. Grandma says you discovered it. The bit about Giratina? Seems we found it too late though. The storm is gone on Mt. Coronet, and Palkia and Dialga have disappeared without a trace. I guess we'll never know what really happened out there, but it sure is nice and peaceful. Places like this in Sinnoh, are actually starting to warm up." She fanned herself with her hand.

I wanted so badly to tell her everything, but I kept my mouth shut. "I bet you would like to know. With you researching the legends all the time. But, I bet the league is keeping you busy as well." I said, trying to change the subject.

"Oh!" Cynthia looked at me surprised. "Didn't you hear? I lost the recent league competition. Some new guy came in beat me bad."

"Someone already beat you?" I couldn't believe it.

"Yeah." She held a finger to her chin. "Can't remember the guy's name."

"Wait a second." Kyle spoke up. "So if the league competition just ended, does that mean we have to wait another year to compete?"

Cynthia smiled at him. "No, the league is held here every 6 months, to cut down on so many contestants. But in exchange for the little time between competitions, The winning challenger after beating the elite four, has to fight the champion from last time, in order to claim the title."

"I see." Kyle nodded.

"Kyle, this is Cynthia." I said, feeling rude for not introducing them earlier.

"So you're the guy." Cynthia leaned in close to Kyle, making him back up uneasily. "I've been dying to meet the triple league champ. So it seems you go for the taller girls. The ones with long blonde hair?" She flicked a finger across the pokeball around his neck. Kyle looked ready to say something to her, but I was ready to as well.

"Cynthia!" I shoved her arm. "Cut it out!" Cynthia normally was always so complacent. I knew she was just doing this to annoy me.

"I know Shonna. I know." She backed up. "I saw you on tv where he said you were his girlfriend. No worries."

"Don't do me that way!" I yelled.

"Aw, how sweet." Cynthia cooed. "You'd fight for this guy. You must really like him."

"I love him!" I blurted out, before feeling myself turn red. I looked over to Kyle, who laughed at me. Soon, Cynthia joined in. "You guys… quit embarrassing me." I mumbled.

"You're just so cute Shonna!" Kyle ran up and hugged me tight, making me blush even more.

"That's nice." Cynthia chuckled. "I hope someday I can find a nice boyfriend like that."

"Cynthia." Kyle gave a hopeful look. "I challenge you to a full battle."

"What?" Cynthia was caught off guard by this. So was I.

"Yeah." Kyle grinned. "You're a good trainer, to hold a league competition title like that. I'd like to see how you'd fair against me."

"I don't accept." Cynthia said smiling. "I admire your bluntness, but I have things to do right now. I don't really have time for a full battle. Hey! Are either of you competing in the gym here?"

"I am." I pointed to my chin.

"Good. I'll swing by later to watch." Cynthia smiled. "Then, maybe I'll consider a battle with you Kyle."

"Sounds good to me." He grinned. "Shonna and I were just about to check out the gym."

"We were?" I sighed. I silently wished I could have fit more training in before this.

"Then I suppose I'll have to hurry." Cynthia smiled, clutching to her book. She walked casually into the library.

"You pick good friends." Kyle smiled at me. "They all seem to genuinely seem to care about you."

"Yeah, all except Erika." I muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"I've tried calling, she never answers." I looked at the ground as we walked back to the gym. "I'm starting to think she's avoiding me. Either that or she's died."

"Don't say that!" Kyle laughed at me. "She's just busy."

"I guess so." We were back at the Canalave gym, and I shoved open the doors. It opened to reveal a large rocky stadium. The floor was covered in dirt. There was no one in sight, but I could hear some yelling in the background. We walked in, to see the three people standing there arguing. One was a man with an extensive red beard that trailed right into his head of hair. The other two, I recognized to be Roark and Erika.

"I can't believe you! You just don't even care anymore do you? I left you that gym to take care of, and I get complaints all the time that you're not even there!" I didn't recognize this burly man's face, or his voice.

"That's not fair dad!" Roark screamed. "I do my job fine! You're the one who's constantly criticizing me over it."

"You're no good for that gym at all. I wish I'd never taken the offer to become gym leader here, if it meant you'd screw the other one over!"

"Yeah we all know Dad. I think you've made it perfectly clear you would have much rather had Riley working in the gym." Roark clenched a fist. "He's not even your biological son you know!"

"Still, he would have done a much better job." The man scratched his beard. "If he hadn't been so hung up on watching over that island, he would have never refused."

"You're so…. Ugh!" Roark looked ready to jump him.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Erika jumped between them. "No more fighting." She turned to the bushy man. "Byron, you're his father. Please try to not be so hard on him."

Byron, who I guessed now to be the gym leader here, stared down on her. "You know nothing. You're the reason he's slacking off so much anyway!"

"Umm… Excuse me." I spoke up, in a meek voice. "Everything okay here?"

"Shonna?" Erika's eyes widened as the trio turned to look at us.

"Oh." Roark looked surprised as well.

"Well? Who are you?" Byron stepped forward. "We're a little busy right now." He turned to Kyle. "I remember you. Pokemon master right?"

"Something like that." Kyle smirked.

"You won. What are you back for?"

"I'm accompanying my girlfriend." He wrapped an arm around me. "She's trying to get all the badges now as well."

Byron looked annoyed. "No. I won't fight anyone right now. Other than my good for nothing son!"

"Oh please!" Roark yelled again. "Now who's the one slacking off?"

"I'm not slacking off!" Byron screamed, touching a finger to his chin. "I'm simply demanding a test first."

"A test?" Kyle glared at him. "You didn't do this when I came through for a badge."

"Well I am now." Byron turned to me. "Little lady, if you think you have the strength to challenge me, you're going to have to beat someone else first."

"Lay off her." Roark demanded. "She already beat my gym. Isn't that enough?"

"Your gym is a cake walk!" Byron spat.

"I'll do it." I yelled over them, surprising everyone. "On certain conditions."

"Conditions eh?" Byron had a gleam in his eye. "What kind?"

"If I beat this mystery person you speak of, you'll let me challenge you. And…" I flicked some hair over my shoulder. You'll leave your son alone. Quit bashing him."

Roark and Erika looked hopeful for that.

"Just because I'm that confident that you'll lose to this young man, I accept." Byron nodded. "But it won't be easy. Not near as easy as my other son."

Roark glared at him. "Riley?"

"Of course." Byron grinned. "You'll have to take a ferry to Iron Island to reach him. But he'll be easy to find. He's the only one who lives on the entire island."

"Doesn't sound too easy to me." Kyle said with a smug look.

"That's my demands. Beat him, and we'll see if you can beat me."

Erika followed me as we walked to the gym's entrance. "Shonna! Wait up."

"Yes?" I turned.

"Can we talk?"

"Yeah sure." I eyed Byron and Roark who'd stayed behind, giving each other the evil eye.

"Well, if you're wondering why I'm here," She looked back to Roark. "That's the gym leader that I'm dating here."

"I figured as much." Kyle said quietly.

"Yeah." Erika continued. "I met him on my first trip up here to Sinnoh. He showed me around, helped me get a Turtwig, and since we both were gym leaders, we seemed to have a lot in common. We exchanged numbers before I headed back. To tell you the truth I don't really like him that way. I just wanted to be friends, but he was sort of desperate." She sighed. "I came up here to try and cheer him up, but he's having all these family troubles." She chuckled a little. "It's driving me up the wall."

"We'll try to patch things up. No guarantee it will work, but maybe Byron will back down a bit." I looked over to Kyle. He looked bored. "Erika, if you don't like him, well, you probably should tell him that."

"I know." She looked down. "I've been wanting to tell him for a while, but he's been so glum anyway lately, I didn't have the heart."

Kyle yawned. "Shonna, you really think that he'll give Roark any kind of respect after this?"

"Maybe." I smiled. "Maybe he'll see that just because someone defeats his son in battle, doesn't mean it was by his weakness. If I can beat Riley and him, he might see that he's not so great either."

"That's all fine and dandy." He said with a smile. "But Byron really is tougher than Roark. And I don't know about this Riley guy but…"

"Oh hush." I punched him in the shoulder playfully. "I'll beat them all and you know it."

Erika stepped back. "Sorry to keep you waiting then. Go on, we'll await your return."

We pushed open the heavy gym doors. "Well. That's an interesting situation we've got ourselves into."

"Yeah." Kyle closed the door behind us. "How did you manage to do that?"

"Me?" I laughed. "You're in this too!"

Kyle held my hand, walking to the nearby docks. "True, but you're the one trying to break up all your friends."

"Well they're the ones in bad relationships!" I tugged on his hand. "Would you really have Hope dating some conniving old geezer right now? The one trying to swindle her for money?"

Kyle just laughed his head off. "I'm sorry, but that was hilarious."

"True. This is a bit more serious with Erika though. A long distance relationship turned sour." We continued to walk down the docks, so into our conversation that we almost passed right by a ship.

"Pardon." A man in a sailor's outfit interrupted. "Are you young trainers going to be boarding today?"

"Is the destination Iron Island?" Kyle asked.

"Why yes, it is." He replied. "Just hop aboard!"

We paid a fee, and got on the small ferry. I slipped a bit on the wet ship, but Kyle of course caught me. We walked to one end, sitting down next to each other as the sailor turned the boat around. It was a smaller boat, so the waves almost came within arms reach. I cuddled against Kyle. He kissed my forehead and wrapped an arm around me.

"So," The sailor again interrupted. "Is this a honeymoon or something?"

"Umm…" My eyes widened with the thought. "No."

The man laughed. "I was only kidding. I'll bet you're really just trainers going to see all the steel type pokemon here. This island's full of them."

"Steel type you say?" Kyle looked up.

"Oh yes." The sailor steered right a bit. "Steelix, Aron, and lots of other kinds too."

"Interesting." Kyle looked toward the island, which was within sight.

"We'll me mooring soon. I'll swing around every hour or so to check on you guys. So you can plan to be picked up around then. Or you can always stay at Riley's place. He welcomes guests, or anyone who wants to learn more about the island."

"Sounds like a cool guy." I imagined an older man, ready to greet us at the island with brochures and tours, before glancing at my poketch. "So then if we want to get back to the mainland, we should come back to the dock by about 4 o clock."

"Sure," The sailor pulled to a stop. "Or if you want to stay longer you can. But I head home every night at 7. So don't stay any later than that unless you plan on camping out or staying with Riley."

"Oh we'll be back before then." I said, standing up uneasily. "It won't take me that long to cream this guy."

Kyle helped me off the boat, and we waved as the ferryman sailed away. "So this is Iron Island." He looked up, to the mountainous area. It was all very rocky, and a dirt path led away from the docks. There was one house, nestled by the mountainside. Kyle knocked on the door three times, but no answer came.

"So much for the inviting guy I imagined." I mumbled.

"Perhaps he's in there." Kyle pointed to a nearby tunnel, and released his Charmeleon. "It looks kind of dark, so let's be careful." He took my hand and led me into the cave. The path forked almost immediately. Charmeleon headed right, so we followed him, without any real clue where we were going. The dark tunnel-like area we were in was littered with stalagmites. And Charmeleon was moving so fast, I struggled not to trip on the rocky surface. "Charmeleon! Slow down!" Kyle demanded.

"Char! Char!" Charmeleon seemed concerned about something ahead of us, and refused to stop. Soon, it was almost totally pitch black.

"Ugh!" Something hit me against the back of my head, hard. _Could a rock have fallen?_ I stumbled and tripped, letting go of my grip on Kyle's hand. I hit another rock, and flopped over on the cold wet ground. Then, everything went completely black.

**x-x-x**

Kyle felt himself lose grip on her hand. It felt like she'd fallen. He collapsed on his knees in the dark, trying to feel around for her body. "Shonna? What happened? Where are you?" He glanced up in anger as Charmeleon headed down the hall. Reaching for the pokeball around his neck, he was prepared to illuminate this place no matter what it took. But just as he was about to press the button, a woman's figure ran down the hall. "Shonna?" Kyle stood, watching the shadow disappear. "Wait for me!" He ran now, headed for the light that the shadow was running toward. But now as he emerged on the other side of the tunnel, he had to skid to a stop. He almost ran right off a cliff!

"Char?" Charmeleon turned to look at him.

"Charmeleon?" Kyle looked around. "Where'd Shonna go?"

"Charrrr…" Charmeleon didn't seem to know. Instead he watched a group of nests that sat high on rocky outcroppings in the middle of the ocean.

"We don't have time for this Charmeleon!" Kyle looked in every direction frantically. "We have to find Shonna!"

As he said this, a pokeball at the side of his belt shook wildly. Skarmory released herself from it, flying out to the distance. "Skarrrrrr!"

"Not you too!" Kyle slapped himself in the forehead. "Come on! This is not the time for all my pokemon to start misbehaving."

Suddenly a mass of Skarmory emerged in the other direction. They screamed an awful screech that made his ears ring. Charmeleon held claws to his head as well. The Skarmory turned to him, with an angry glare. They swooped around in the air, turning for him and Charmeleon.

"Oh great." Kyle fumbled with Charmeleon's pokeball. "Charmeleon. Return!"

Charmeleon lifted a foot to dodge the beam. "Char Char."

"What are you doing?" Kyle screamed. "We have to retreat now!"

"Char!" Charmeleon faced the flock of Skarmory head on, as they flew with Steel Wing engaged, straight for them. Kyle watched helplessly as Charmeleon charged up a flamethrower from deep in his chest, letting it fly at the group of 20 to 30 Skarmory. "Charrrrrr!"

A white light shown around him. Wings spurted from his back, and the flame on his tail intensified. He grew large and dragon-like, with a long lighter orange neck. A good deal of the Skarmory were instantly fried from the blast, and less than ten escaped unscathed. Charizard turned, flipping Kyle onto his back as they took to the air. Charizard chased down the remaining Skarmory with quick-fired flames.

"This could be useful." Kyle smiled, stroking his scaly skin.

"Skarrrrr!" Kyle's Skarmory flew between what was left of the pack and Charizard. Charizard simply huffed at her.

"What's up?" Kyle yelled to Skarmory.

Skarmory simply gave him a sad look, as a male Skarmory warily approached. He flew circles around her, before letting out a happy cry.

"Skar! Skar!" The male Skarmory flew happily over to a nest. Charizard approached with caution, and it was then he could see two small Skarmory huddled in the nest. His Skarmory landed beside them, rubbing her smooth head on their beaks.

"Sk-Skar!" One yawned out. Suddenly the large male turned to glare at Kyle.

"Are you kidding me?" Kyle watched his Skarmory give him a solemn look. "You're a mother?"

"Skar-mory." She seemed to blush, looking at her babies. The male joined her in the nest, nuzzling on top the babies.

"And the male's been taking care of the eggs until they hatched." Kyle shook his head. "I don't know the story, but it's obvious you want to stay here." He smiled at her. "It's too bad though. I hadn't even really got to know you yet."

"Skar!" She spread out one wing.

"Yeah, glad to have helped you get back to your family." He looked down sadly. "Goodbye then." He had Charizard turn, heading around the island. "Come on Charizard. We've got to find Shonna now."

"Char." He snorted embers as he flew by the remaining Skarmory. They all glared, but knew better than to attack him.


	41. Ricky vs Riley!

**x-x-x**

Episode 40: Ricky vs. Riley!

I awoke in someone's arms, being carried through the cave. My head ached a little, so I put one hand up to try and comfort it. I groaned. "Kyle? What happened?"

There was no answer. It was still very dark, and I couldn't see his face.

"Kyle?" I squirmed a bit, regaining consciousness.

"Nope." The voice echoed. It was not one I wanted to hear. "Not him, little flower."

"No…" I kicked my way out of his arms, crawling to the other end of the cave. We were close to some kind of exit now. There was a light shining in at me. "Not you!"

"Yes." He leaned down, getting his face in mine. "I told you we'd meet again."

"Ricky!" I screamed, backing into the light, outside. The light was temporarily blinding, but once my eyes focused, I saw us on the outer skirts of the island, on a cliffside. There was a giant airship parked in a grassy lot. Mars stood leaned against the ramp.

"Let's just get her in here and go." Mars said, flicking her red hair back. It was no longer in a stiff short cut. It was growing out. She wasn't wearing her galactic suit either. She had on a tight black dress that was cut short.

"You're no fun." Ricky's scraggly red hair waved in the wind. "Let's give her a bit of a scare first."

I backed up, standing. "You're out of luck Ricky!" I reached around to my shoulder. "This time I've got my pokem-" I stopped, realizing my purse was missing.

"Let me guess, Kyle didn't tell you I was a master thief either?" Ricky pulled my purse from behind his back.

"Gimme that back!" I reached for it, but he shoved me away.

"Fiery little thing aren't you?" Ricky grinned. "You're much more fun in your not so plain outfit."

"You're disgusting." I spat, watching something shake in my purse.

"You and Mars." Ricky sighed. "The only women to not succumb to my charms."

Mars simply flicked her head sideways. "Perhaps you've just lost your talent."

"Perhaps." Ricky gave me an evil stare. "I don't care about that anymore anyway. The only thing left in my life is to destroy Kyle's." He gripped onto my chin, squeezing with his fingers. "That would be you little flower."

"Rarrrrr!" Lucario burst from the purse and punched Ricky in the gut, knocking him away, and making my purse fall to the ground. I held my jaw once he'd let go. Ricky glared at Lucario with an evil look.

"Oh, so you have one that's learned to break free." He smiled in a sinister way. "I'll have to keep that in mind."

Lucario growled, looking totally disgusted with him.

"Is that a challenge?" Ricky tossed out a pokeball, releasing a tyranitar.

"RARRRRRR!" Tyranitar's roar was deafening.

"Destroy it." Ricky said coolly.

"Don't count on it." Another man's voice emerged from the cavern. I prayed it was Kyle, but when he walked out into the light, I knew it wasn't.

This man had blue clothes, and a blue hat that feathered out in the back. His hair was almost black, but had hints of blue in it as well. He looked almost exactly like the man, or spirit, who'd given me my Riolu egg way back in Kanto. I gasped, letting his name escape me. "Sir Aaron?"

He looked over to me and smiled warmly. A rush of something, flooded my body. I don't know how I knew, but I knew he was here to help me.

"Who are you?" Ricky glared. "You have something better than a lucario?"

"No, I don't suppose I do." The man smiled again, before throwing a pokeball. "The name's Riley, and I don't know who you are, but you're not welcome on this island!"

A Lucario emerged into the light. He stood a little taller than my own. I gazed at him in awe. I'd always heard Lucario were rare, but this makes the third that I've seen.

"Rarrrr…io." The Lucario stared Tyranitar down.

"Hyper beam." Ricky said calmly.

"Tyrannnnn!" Tyranitar let loose a massive beam, destroying the land in his path. I noticed Riley nod to his Lucario, who in turn nodded back. The Lucario gathered a ball of aura in his paws, and I saw my Lucario watch in disbelief as the aura sphere grew so large, it engulfed the hyper beam, pushing it back. In the end, the attack blew up halfway, leaving both pokemon without a scratch. Riley and Ricky stared each other down, letting wind blow dirt up on the field. There was a long pause.

"Whatever." Ricky scoffed. "I can wait a while longer for my prize." He casually walked onto the airship, with Mars close behind.

"But one last thing." Ricky turned to me. "If Kyle still doesn't believe you about my return, show him this." He tossed out something which I caught with both hands. At first I thought it was a strange shaped black pokeball, but I turned it over to see it had a number 8 on it.

"A pool ball?" I questioned.

Ricky just smirked before raising the ramp to his ship. The wind whipped through my hair as they took off. Me and Riley watched as the ship disappeared into the distance.

"So Mars is with him?" I sighed. "Great." I turned the scratched up 8 ball around in my hand. "I wonder what this means?"

"Miss?" Riley and his Lucario came around to look at me, with my Lucario following behind. "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you did he?"

"No." I smiled at him. "I'm fine. It sure is lucky you showed up though. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't stopped him. My name's Shonna by the way. You're Riley right? The guy who watches over the island?"

"That's me. And it was no trouble at all." He sighed in relief. "But, it wasn't luck that I found you at all. I felt your aura from deep within the cave. You were resonating strong fear signals."

"I was?" I gazed at him oddly. "Wait, what do you mean you felt my aura?"

"Oh. You didn't know?" He smiled again. "You're an aura guardian. And certainly the most beautiful I've met."

I blushed, slightly. I still didn't know why, but I got the feeling this guy wouldn't do me any harm. "Thanks I guess, but what's an aura guardian?"

"You and me, are a rare breed." Riley picked up a flashlight he'd dumped at the tunnel's entrance, flicking it on. "Follow me and I'll explain."

Once I collected my purse, I did follow him. His flashlight was powerful enough to light up most of the caverns. A couple aron ran to hide from the brightness. Our pair of Lucario followed close behind.

"An aura guardian is someone who can use or manipulate aura. Do you know what aura is?"

"Not very well." I admitted. "I just know that Lucario, and some other pokemon can use it."

"Aura is the essence of a living being. It's meant to be used in attacks as power, or read from other creatures with telepathy. I see we share the ability to speak with our Lucario, correct?"

Lucario and I looked at each other. I nodded.

"Well, it's very rare in humans, but it sometimes happens that they have an innate ability to use aura has well. These people are called aura guardians. Research says that at one time, there may have been more people who had this ability, but it's gradually died out."

"I see." I walked behind him slowly. "Does that mean I could use aura attacks? And telepathy with my other pokemon? Or People?" _Or Kyle?_ I hoped silently.

"It's a hard thing to gain that much control over. Since you didn't realize it until now, I have to assume your power is weak. It will only be easy for you to read the minds of those who possess the same power." Riley navigated around a turn in the cave. "If you'd like, I could teach you."

"That would be great!" I sped up my pace happily. "Can your Lucario help teach mine aura sphere? We've been working on that for a while, and haven't been able to get it down."

Lucario looked a bit humiliated about this.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Riley smiled, leading us out to the cave's entrance. I could see his house nearby. "We'll start training over here okay?"

"Oh." I hung my head. "I was supposed to battle you at some point."

Riley didn't look surprised, but he asked anyway. "And why's that?"

"The gym leader Byron demanded I beat you in a battle before I fight him."

"Stubborn guy." Riley laughed. "It's not a problem. I think training's more important right now. If he asks, you just tell him to drop me a call and I'll make sure he battles you."

"You're very nice. I can tell." I smiled at him. "Thank you."

"You don't know it, but you can tell that by your aura." He said, tipping his hat. "I've always been good at guessing people's personalities as well."

I chuckled at him, as he motioned our Lucarios over.

"Rar." His Lucario greeted me sweetly. I think that made mine a bit jealous, but he held it back.

"Lucario," Riley pat his head. "Could you kindly help out Shonna's Lucario with an aura sphere? It'd be most appreciated."

He nodded. My Lucario followed obediently behind his new superior, to somewhere behind Riley's house.

"That's got to be better than me trying to teach him that move." I whispered.

"You'll get better." Riley smiled. "Now apprentice, ready to learn?"

"Sure." I beamed. "Where do I start?"

"From what I've gathered, aura comes from somewhere around the gut." Riley poked his stomach. "What you have to do, is work it out of you. Most easily, through the hands." He surprised me, making me jump a bit when he suddenly took my hand. "Sorry." He didn't let go, but held my hand in his. "Aura is kind of a personal thing. If I ever make you uncomfortable, just let me know."

Even though I trusted him, this was a bit odd. "Go on." I said wearily.

"Just work on trying to transfer your energy. I'll watch."

I struggled, unsure of how exactly to go about it. I closed my eyes and tried to focus. No matter what I tried, I couldn't work up any aura.

"I have an idea." Riley held his other hand over mine. "Just try to hold onto this for a second."

I watched now as a blue spark, almost like static, trailed from his palm to mine. It stayed there for about two seconds before fizzling out.

"Excellent!" Riley praised, releasing my hand. "You held it longer than I thought."

"Really?" I laughed. "That was good?"

"Indeed." He smiled. "Just keep working on bringing it out yourself. I'm going to go check on the Lucario, be right back." He walked away, leaving me feeling strange and vulnerable.

"Suck it up." I whispered. "Ricky's gone, and I have my pokemon back now. I'll be okay." I held my purse close to me, and held my hand out again, concentrating. I felt some pressure in my stomach, almost a sick dizzying feeling. Then I felt something like an electric shock trail up my arm. A spark appeared in my palm for just a second. "Wow!"

"_Ma!"_ I heard Lucario's voice. I ran around the house, concerned. When I saw the pair of Lucario on the other side, standing by the stream, Riley was standing beside them grinning. Both Lucario had an aura sphere wrapped in their paws. My Lucario held the large blue sphere daintily as it swirled in his grasp. I watched as the pair of Lucario unleashed their attacks. They collided into each other and fizzled out like glittery blue fireworks_. "Ma!"_ Lucario turned to me looking so happy and excited_. "I did it!"_

I rushed up to hug him. His skinny arms wrapped around me. "That's wonderful! I'm so proud of you Lucario!"

"I told you it wouldn't be a problem." Riley placed a hand on his Lucario. "Great job Lucario. Keep up the good work, kay?"

His Lucario nodded, and the pair went right back to work. Riley turned to me. "So, how did it go on your end?"

"I got a spark, but that's about it."

"That's great!" He walked a ways away from our Lucario, giving them space. "If you can hold it there for a while, and slap it across something, that's the same thing as a Force Palm attack."

"Is that so?" I looked down at my palm. "That's wild!"

"Yes, and you probably won't need to know attacks like that, but it's nice regardless." Riley smiled, looking to the mountains. "I use things like that from time to time to protect the island."

"That's right." I nodded. "You really watch over all the pokemon here?"

"I try." He looked embarrassed. "I do the best I can."

"Why?" I asked out of curiosity. "What made you want to do that?"

"I'll let you figure that out." Riley grinned. "You want to work on the telepathy, right?"

"Yeah!" I jumped a little. "You're saying I can hear more than just Lucario?"

"I'm saying, you should be able to read my thoughts right now, just as I'm able to for you."

I blushed. _He'd been reading my thoughts? This aura stuff really was personal_. "How do I do it?"

"Same way you do with Lucario." Riley tilted his head. "Just try to focus on it."

I did. I listened carefully for what felt like 5 minutes. Nothing came. "It's not working."

"Hmm…" He stepped forward. "That's strange. I thought it'd be easy since you're trying with me."

I saw a flash of something. An image. "Riley! I saw something."

"Oh?" He stopped walking.

"Wait." I stepped toward him. Another quick flash. "As I get closer, it gets clearer."

"Really?" He stepped forward a bit more. "That's very interesting. To tell you the truth I've never met anyone else who had this power, so I don't know how it will work."

"Shh." I hushed him, taking one of his hands. Something like a short video played in my head and disappeared. "I wonder. Why am I seeing this now?"

"I guess because you're trying now." Riley slowly took my other hand in his. "Does this help?"

I closed my eyes, trying to see the images better in my head. "Yes. I see you, as a small child. You're on this island, and it's raining. There's a Riolu walking with you."

"Yeah." Riley sounded sad.

"There's a man with red hair, and he's bending down to talk to you." I narrated.

"_Are you lost boy?" The red haired man's voice echoed in my head. "How did you get out here?" _

_The young Riley didn't say anything, but held tight to Riolu's paw._

"_Where's your family?" The man reached out a hand to him. "What's your name?"_

_Again, Riley didn't answer. _

"_Lu!" His Riolu barked at the man protectively. _

"_Well, my name's Byron." He reached out for him, scooping him up. "Let's get you out of the rain."_

_Little Riley reached out his arms for Riolu. "Riley! Riley!"_

"_Hmm?" Byron looked down to the Riolu hugging his leg. "He can come with us. Don't worry!"_

"_Riley!" The little boy cried._

"_Riley?" Byron tossed him a little. "That's what we'll call you. Riley."_

The dream like sequence ended for a bit, but I kept my eyes closed in case there was anything else. I felt sad, watching all this. "You were an orphan Riley?"

"Yes." He said calmly. "I don't remember anything before that day. Byron took me in though, which I'm very grateful for. I stayed with his family and his younger son for a long time."

Another sequence began playing. This time Riley looked only slightly younger than he was now. Byron and Roark also looked about like they did present time. They all were standing around a table talking.

"_So, here's the deal." Byron said without looking up. "I've been invited to become the gym leader in Canalave City. Which would mean, I'm leaving the one here in Oreburgh."_

"_But why?" Roark complained. "Mom's sick, and she can't handle the move."_

"_We're not moving." Byron said, still not meeting his gaze. "I'm leaving, and you'll take care of your mother."_

"_Are you serious?" Roark stared at him blankly._

_Riley sat quietly, secretly speaking with his Lucario behind him._

"_Riley!" Byron blared. "I want you to take over the Oreburgh Gym now."_

"_Me?" Riley turned in his chair, looking shocked._

"_Why does he get the gym?" Roark screamed. "He doesn't even have more than one pokemon!"_

"_He's older, and more responsible than you!" Byron snapped._

"_But he's not even your real son!" Roark screamed again._

"_Stop yelling or you'll wake your mother!" Byron yelled at the same pitch._

"_Pardon," Riley spoke softly. "I don't accept. I don't want to take over the gym."_

"_Good!" Roark yelled. "At least someone's making sense here."_

"_But why Riley?" Byron looked heartbroken._

"_Roark wants the job. I don't." Riley said bluntly. "I want to go back to that island you found me on. Iron Island. I want to try and find out why I was there, and also help all the pokemon to the best of my abilities."_

_Byron let out a deep sigh. "Well, if that's what you want."_

"This is really something." I said, watching the images in my head fade to black. "So that's why you came here."

"I've been here ever since." I heard him say.

"What do you see from me?" I asked, eyes still tightly closed.

"Well, the part about the ghost that looks like me is certainly interesting."

"Oh yeah." I smiled. "He really did look just like you. Perhaps you're the descendent of him, or his siblings. I don't know."

"That might be a likely guess since it's written in legends that he was an aura guardian as well."

"He was? I just thought he was a prince or something."

Riley chuckled. "I also see the special man in your life."

I could feel myself blush. "That's Kyle."

"He's very good for you. You think highly of him." Riley's voice deepened. "But, something has been between you two lately. That man with the red hair?"

"He's supposedly friends with Ricky, or used to be. Kyle's going to tell me about it, but he's been having trouble explaining." I sighed. "I wish I could just read his mind like this. That would make things so much easier."

I felt a chill run up my spine as warm breath hit my face. I opened my eyes, to see Riley standing with his face just an inch away from mine. "Gah!" I jumped back, letting go of him. When he opened his eyes to see, he looked surprised as well.

"I apologize!" He stepped back. "I didn't realize we were so…"

"Close?" I answered. "Yeah me either."

Suddenly Riley looked to the sky, then rubbed his temples. "We have company, and it's not a happy aura."

I turned to spy Kyle high in the air above us, floating on a giant Charizard. He had a look on his face that said he could kill somebody.


	42. Kyle vs Riley!

**x-x-x**

Episode 41: Kyle vs. Riley!

Charizard swooped in, releasing a massive flamethrower attack toward Riley's Lucario. The Lucario crossed his arms in defense, but mine jumped him, knocking him out of reach from the blast.

"Rarrrrr! Char!" Charizard swooped down again, this time letting Kyle slide off his back. Before landing between Riley and I, he punched him midair square in the face. It had enough force behind it to knock Riley to the ground.

My jaw was dropped at this whole scene. Riley didn't fight back, but instead just rubbed his face from the ground. Kyle looked ready to strike again, and held his fist up above Riley.

"Go ahead." Riley chuckled. "I wouldn't blame you. It must have looked bad."

Kyle grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, holding him up a little. "What the heck were you doing with my girlfriend?"

"Honestly?" Riley laughed. "I was training her."

That comment was met with another punch to the face.

Riley wiped a bit of blood off his chin. "Okay, I probably deserved that one."

Charizard was keeping the Lucario at bay, not letting them get to Riley. Kyle waved his hand in a motion to call it off. Charizard lifted up into the air at the signal. "You deserved both of them for kissing my girl." He let go of Riley, allowing his Lucario to catch him. My Lucario ran to my side, shaking me.

I'm not sure why I'd stood there motionless, and speechless. All of Lucario's words sounded like muffled jargon to me. I think I was so taken back by Kyle's reaction I was shell-shocked.

Riley's Lucario growled at Kyle angrily, holding his trainer up.

"Don't even think about it." Kyle glared, looking down at Riley. "If you ever touch her again I'll burn you and your Lucario to a crisp."

Charizard roared in a mocking sort of way. "Char! Char!"

A voice finally rang out through the fog in my head. It belonged to Riley. _"If you don't say something, you're going to lose him."_

"Kyle! Stop! Don't hurt him!" I cried.

Kyle gave me a look full of hate. I winced just from seeing it. He approached me slowly. "I was looking all over this island for you Shonna. You had me worried sick! And when I finally find you, you're over here holding hands and kissing this guy?"

"No!" I shook my head. "I didn't! I didn't kiss him! I don't know what you saw from up there, but I swear I didn't!"

"Really?" He put one hand on his hip. "And what would you call it?"

"Like he said," I looked to Riley. His Lucario was helping him get up. "I was training."

Kyle looked like he was about to blow a fuse. "I've got news for you. You didn't need training with that!"

"I didn't kiss him!" I yelled again. "Riley was only trying to help me draw out my aura power, and things got a bit weird. I feel awful about it okay?" I hung my head. "But please don't blame him. He taught my Lucario Aura Sphere, and he saved me from Ricky…"

Kyle's eyes widened. "Ricky?"

"Yes." I nodded. "I think he knocked me out in the cave. He was taking me to some airship when Riley stopped him. Mars is working with him."

"Mars." Kyle mumbled. "I'll bet that was the woman's shadow I saw then."

"That guy was tough though." Riley groaned. "His Tyranitar is something else."

Kyle looked at him strangely. I wondered if something Riley said struck a cord with him. I reached into my purse, wrapping my fingers around the pool ball. "Ricky told me if you didn't believe he was back, to show you this." I handed him the scratched orb. "I thought maybe he was just trying to be creepy. Does this have any significance to you Kyle?"

He took the 8 ball from my hand, and dropped it once he'd seen it. It clanged on a rock, rolling by his feet. "We need to talk Shonna." He turned to Riley. "Alone."

"I get it. I need to go get cleaned up anyway." Riley wiped at his busted lip as he and his Lucario turned to his house. "If either of you need anything though, let me know."

Kyle scoffed, taking a seat on a nearby rock. I sat across from him. "Lucario, go practice your new move for a while, okay?"

"_But Ma!"_ He complained.

"Do it." I smiled at him. "I'll be just fine."

Lucario turned wearily, heading back to his training spot.

"First off, what was up with that?" He crossed his arms. "He fits the bill of the guy who gave you Riolu. Have you been seeing this guy since Kanto?"

"You know better!" I crossed my arms now. "I know they look alike, but that's Riley, and he has no idea who Sir Aaron is. They're completely different."

"Sir Aaron?" Kyle frowned. "You ever going to tell me the whole story behind this?"

"Sure. If you tell me what your story with Ricky is." He nodded, so I continued. "I was spirited away to some castle, where a man named Sir Aaron and his Lucario tried to convince me I was a princess, and a long lost love of his. I helped him realize he was dead somewhere, and he gave me a Riolu egg in return. I woke up to being on some small island with a pick-up truck on it, just outside Vermillion City. I believe you remember sailing by and picking me up on the S.S. Anne?"

He stared at me strangely. "Shonna, that's a joke right?"

"Nope." I sighed. "I know it sounds crazy, but I can't make this stuff up." I looked up to meet his gaze. "It's part of the reason I believe in superstitions more than you do."

Kyle shook his head at me. I couldn't tell if he believed me or not. "Fine, now I'll tell you about Ricky."

"You really were friends with the guy weren't you?"

"I never liked him from day one. I met him in some pool hall in Kanto. After the league, when you left, I was a real mess, and ended up in that place. I beat him bad at that game, and by some strange twist of fate, we met again in Johto. He insisted on tagging along with me to show me around the region. Little did I know the whole time he was secretly stealing my pokemon in the name of Conner, his team rocket alias."

"So he's the same guy who stole your pokemon?" I held my arms tighter against me. "Go on."

"He ended up getting all but four in the end. He was using them to form a clone pokemon that would do their dirty work for them. They wanted strong pokemon to included on the dna, so I guess Ricky figured the pokemon master's pokemon would be perfect. They created a monster named Mewthree."

"Mewthree?" I tilted my head.

"You remember Giovanni?" Kyle asked.

"Of course. We defeated him in his gym in Viridian. Speaking of which, how did team rocket keep going without their leader?"

"They had a back-up." He kicked a pebble. "When Mewtwo failed them, and Giovanni was caught, he had no children. So the duty passed on to Conner."

"You mean Ricky?" I held a finger to my chin. "A bit young for that wasn't he?"

"Not Ricky, his father." Kyle ruffled his russet hair. "His father thought it'd be a great idea to include the legendary birds on the clone project. Unfortunately for him, I made that impossible. After his death, Ricky was next in line."

"Wait, so that dude who you had to defeat to save Articuno, he's Ricky's father?"

"Precisely." Kyle sighed. "It was an accident, the cave-in, but when Ricky found out I'd killed his father, he went mad with hate for me. He actually unleashed his Mewthree experiment on me before it was able to support its own life. It didn't listen to Ricky and died. I still had to fight off a couple other tricks he had up his sleeve, and barely pulled through." Kyle paused now. "Somehow after all the battling, his secret base at Mt. Silver collapsed. I tried to save him, but he refused to leave."

"What… happened?" I watched as Kyle's face saddened.

"He died. Or so I thought."

"But he's not dead, is he?"

"No. He never showed the Tyranitar to anyone but me. And the 8 ball he stole from our first game." He adjusted his glasses. "But, if he wasn't dead enough already, he's going wish he was dead after all the crap he's been putting us through."

I moved back a bit to his comment. I'd never seen him look so angry. He had every right to be, but still, it was unnerving.

"So there's the truth about Ricky." Kyle looked up. "Now how about you and blue boy?"

"I already told you." I whined.

"You expect me to believe all that ghost and training nonsense?" He glared.

"Kyle…" Tears welled up in my eyes. I hated this feeling, of him being mad at me. "It's true."

He just shook his head and sighed. "It's getting late. What time does your poketch say?"

I looked down at it. Even though the sun was setting, I was surprised at how late it actually was. "6:45."

"Great. We're just in time for the boat." Kyle groaned as he got up.

I walked over to behind Riley's house, recalling Lucario. Kyle was already headed for the docks. "Can I at least say goodbye?"

He gave me a hateful look.

"Guess not." I said, looking at Riley's door as I walked by. _I really hope he knows how much I appreciated what he did, regardless of how badly it ended._

"_I do. And you're welcome."_ I heard his voice echo through my head. _"Goodbye."_

I put on a smile, chasing behind Kyle, who eyed me wearily. "What?"

He looked away from the dock, toward the approaching ferry. "I was not the most sane person after Ricky died. But then again, I don't suppose anyone would be after seeing that many people die and knowing there was nothing you could do to help." He looked back to me. "I actually thought maybe you were a team rocket member as well, and that you'd held secrets from me all along."

"Team galactic would have been closer." I chuckled. He didn't laugh. "Wait. Are you serious? You really thought that?"

The ferry pulled to a stop beside us. The same sailor jumped off the boat to help us aboard. "Welcome back! Did you have fun on the island? I was getting worried that you weren't coming back, but here you are on last call." He smiled as we got on without a word. Kyle and I took seats across from each other, not even looking at one another.

"Whoa." The sailor took his station at the front of the boat. "Guess the honeymoon's over."

**x-x-x**

We got off the boat and headed straight for the pokemon center, still without a word. Kyle went to sign us up for a room. Nurse Joy yawned handing him two keys. He placed one in my hand. "This is for your room." He turned, and headed down the hall leaving me dumbfounded.

"Shonna?" Cynthia appeared through the pokecenter door. "We were all waiting on you at the gym. You never showed. What's up?"

"I… don't think I'll be there." I looked down at the floor. "Could you tell everyone we ran a little late? We're staying here for tonight."

"Okay." Cynthia smiled. "I'll go tell them. I'll stay too. I can wait until tomorrow to start heading home."

"I don't think I'll be battling tomorrow either Cynthia." I clutched the tiny key so hard in my fist that it hurt.

"What's wrong?" She touched my shoulder. I shrugged her off.

"I'm going to bed." I said, walking down the hall. Once I saw her leave, I turned right around and headed out of the center. I walked quickly, and not exactly sure where I was going. I ran now, running out of the city in the middle of the night. I stopped, out of breath, when I reached a heavily forested area. It was secluded, far enough from the city to only see the lights. _I didn't care that it would make Kyle mad. He was mad anyway. I didn't care if Ricky found me out here. I'd kill him for all the trouble he caused. I didn't even care if…_

I clutched to the purple master ball in my hand. My hands shook as I pressed the button, and a red light released the massive beast.

"Kia…." Palkia glowered at me.

"Palkia." I spoke. "I'm going to train you, whether you like it or not. I'm going to earn your respect."

A raspy voice entered my head. _"I see you've gotten stronger. You've certainly improved your mind powers to be able to hear me."_ It hissed with each syllable.

"Who?" I turned, looking in all directions.

"_Me."_ Palkia leaned down, letting a pink ball form at its fingertips_. "Did you not think a pokemon of legends could use aura as well?"_

"You're…" I backed up a bit. "Using telepathy with me?"

"_You're smarter than you look." _It crushed the pink aura sphere in its claws.

"Well thank you." I said sarcastically, daring to stare back into Palkia's eyes. "I always appreciate a compliment."

"_So."_ Palkia stood up straight once more_. "What made you get the gumption to let me out again?"_

"Like you said, I've gotten stronger." I placed both hands on my hips.

"_Is that a fact?"_ It reared back its tail, slamming it against me. I flew back, hitting the ground hard.

"Ugh." It hurt, but I knew I couldn't show it that. I stood back up. "I don't care what you do. I'm going to train you regardless. So you might as well get used to it."

Palkia growled, raising its claws. It hit me head on, knocking me away again. I stood up, taking a little longer this time. Palkia growled again. _"I'm sick of playing games with you!" _It turned, flapping its massive wings. The wind from that alone almost knocked me off my feet. I squinted, walking toward it.

"Going to run away?" I stepped toward it once more. "No matter where you go, I'll find you. You're my pokemon, and until I find a good reason, I'm not releasing you."

Palkia let its wings rest, and whirled around toward me_. "Then you will die."_

"Do your worst Palkia." I grit my teeth. "Let's see what you can do."

"KIAAAA!" Palkia roared, lunging for me. It reached its claws out, pinning me against a tree. If it put any more pressure on it, the tree would snap. I squirmed as it held me in the air. The master ball fell from my hand, rolling down the hill.

"That the best you got?" I coughed. Palkia growled, pressing its grip tighter. I could hear the awful sound of the tree snapping. I took my hands, placing them on its scaly claws. "I won't let you control me."

Palkia stared at me for a long time, loosening its grip, I fell to the grass below. It stepped back, staring me down. _"You are stronger than before. But don't let this deceive you. I will never care about you."_ It flicked the master ball to me with its tail. _"And I'll never stop looking for the other one. I will fight him again."_

"You've got some kind of beef with Dialga." I chuckled, picking up the masterball. "Well, I've seen a lot of crazy things Palkia. I think your best shot of seeing it again is sticking with me anyway." I pressed on the masterball, sucking it back inside. "Until next time."

The wind whipped, and I could breathe again. _Regardless of how scary that was, I'm glad. I think me and Palkia are starting to get somewhere. We're gaining some kind of relationship._

I turned back to the lights of Canalave that were lighting up in the night sky. _Now, I just needed to work on my other struggling relationship._


	43. The Birthday Bashing!

**A/N: Yes I know Cynthia's Lucario isn't female in the game, but I needed it to be here. Only other note, is that I'll be using Kyle's perspective a bit more than usual in this and the next chapter.**

**x-x-x**

Episode 42: The Birthday Bashing!

I woke up in my room at the pokecenter, alone. I hadn't slept well at all that night. I rubbed my face, trying to will myself awake. My clothes were all dirty from the training with Palkia last night, and my hair was a mess. I walked out, making a short walk to a PC down the hall. I yawned, and I saw his lean figure through my squinted eyes.

He was sucking down a cup of coffee, sitting in the seat right in front of the only PC. He glanced up at me from the hot drink, steam forming on his glasses.

"I need that seat Kyle." I said quietly.

"Pardon?" He said, pulling his lips away from the cup.

"I need that seat you're in." I said a little louder.

"Oh. Sure." He got up, starting to walk past me.

"You know you really don't have to stay mad at me!" I called out, not even turning to look at him.

"You expect me to be all hunky-dory right away?" He groaned.

"No." I held my head down. "But I…" I couldn't finish my sentence. For as much as I wanted to apologize, or do something to end all this, I couldn't.

"Sounds like you're pretty mad at me as well." I heard him sigh. "Not sure why though. Not like I did anything wrong."

"I didn't do anything wrong either!" I whirled around on my heels to face him. "Okay so I held the guy's hand. So I almost kissed him! I never meant to hurt you! If anything, I wanted to be closer to you, by using aura." I thought about all I'd learned with the telepathy. All it'd earned me so far was being able to hear Palkia's griping voice. "You know I'm not the only one here who's been caught in weird situations!" I noticed him turn his head slightly to look at me. "Yeah. What about that thing with Mars huh? I told you then that it didn't bother me. Because I trusted you!"

"You're really going to compare that to this?" Kyle turned to face me now as well. "I shoved her off and said she looked like a hooker! I told her to get away from me!" He clinched his fist. "You held both hands with the guy and inched your way into an embrace with him!"

"Both of you! Stop it!" A Nurse Joy came out from the rear of the center. "If you must argue, take it outside. You're making a scene."

I glanced around to the few trainers staring at us around the center. Some of them stopped to whisper and shake their heads. This whole thing, was embarrassing.

"I'm done anyway." Kyle tossed his paper cup into the trash. "Thanks for the coffee Joy." He wandered back toward the rooms, without another word.

"Done…" My eyes felt hot, but I held back the tears. "Done with the arguing, or us?" I flopped into the PC desk, and just sat there for a long time. I felt a headache coming on as I typed in my name and password. Item Storage. From there, I pulled the item over to the drop box for the pokecenter PC. Within seconds, my package arrived in a slot beside the system. I grabbed it, logged out, and headed out the door.

I was definitely a mess, and the rather chipper girl who worked at the 1-hour photo place didn't bother holding back and told me so. I glared at her, paying for my photos and left. _Not much else could go wrong today. _I squinted as the morning sun reflected in my glasses. I just wanted to go back to my room and be alone.

"Shonna! There you are!" Cynthia beamed. "You didn't show up at the gym. We've been looking all over for you."

Erika appeared by her side. "When Cynthia said she was going to find you, I offered to come. We checked the pokecenter. We even asked Kyle earlier, but he was in a bad mood or something. He didn't answer."

I stopped walking, holding my things in my arms. I looked down at the ground instead of them, which I hoped would give them the hint.

"Whoa." Cynthia pushed back a hairpin behind her ear. "You okay?"

"Not really." I grumbled. "Me and Kyle are fighting."

"What?" Erika stepped back in shock. "No way!"

"Yeah umm…" Cynthia stared at me. "Really? The famous couple's fighting?"

I groaned at her comment. "It's true."

"That's… terrible." Erika ran up to hug me. Her kimono's sleeves draped over my arms.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Cynthia asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Maybe talking would help. A little girl time?"

"I don't know." I sighed, fumbling with my things.

"Come on." Cynthia motioned for us to follow her. Her long black coat trailed behind. "You need some fresh air. Follow me."

Cynthia always seemed to know this whole region. We walked right out of town, past the forested area, and to a trail that led up the mountain a ways. When we finally got there, I gasped at a gorgeous view of Lake Verity, which sat in the distance.

"Now." Erika sat down on a bench, where Cynthia joined her. The spot we were at looked like a tourist drive by area. "Do you want to tell us what happened?"

I sat on a bench across from them, sitting my box and photos down. "Well, he thinks I'm cheating on him."

"What?" They both asked in unison.

"There was a guy, and he sort of caught me holding hands and nearly kissing him. But it wasn't what it seemed."

"Who's the guy?" Cynthia asked.

"His name's Riley. He lives on Iron Island, and he was teaching me aura. Kyle seems to think he was teaching me something else."

Erika giggled at this.

"I'm serious!" I whined.

"Riley? I've met him!" Cynthia smiled. "Yeah. I took a trip up there once and he showed me around. He's pretty good-looking."

"Not helping." I said, staring out to the picturesque view.

"Well, it's obvious you still like Kyle though." Cynthia said, turning to Erika, who nodded in agreement.

"Of course!" I nearly jumped out of my seat. "I love him!"

"So what are you going to do to get him back?" Erika asked.

"I-I haven't lost him yet!" I stumbled on my words. "Have I?"

"Well, this is a pretty serious matter." Cynthia held a finger to her chin, before pointing to my belongings. "What is all that stuff you have anyway?"

I blushed a little. "I'm making a scrapbook. I've got pictures."

"That's nice." Erika jumped up to flip through the pictures. "Most of these are of you and Kyle."

"Yeah." I looked away. "Ironically, today's his birthday."

"Are you for real?" Both Cynthia and Erika looked at me with pity.

I laughed at their expressions. "Yep. But not much celebrating on this end. Besides, I don't think I'll get done with it in time."

"Well then that settles it." Erika placed the photos back in the sleeve that held them. "We'll just have to help you with it." She turned to Cynthia. "As long as you don't mind?"

"It's fine." Cynthia grinned. "I don't know much about that stuff, but anything for Shonna. There's no breeze to annoy us, so we could do it right here if you want."

"Thank you both." I smiled, almost tearing up again. "I have everything we'll need in this box." I started digging through box, pulling out paper and knick-knacks. "Cynthia, you cut the photos to fit these little frames, and Erika, you start decorating the pages with these stickers." I turned the book to its cover, where one photo would fit.

I pulled out the photo I'd taken of both of us atop my aerodactyl. Kyle's face smiled back at me from that piece of paper. I touched his face with my finger, before sliding it onto the slot on the cover.

**x-x-x**

Kyle flopped down on the bottom bunk of the bed in his room, closing his eyes. It was a little bigger than the top bunk, and it gave him a small amount of satisfaction that he got to sleep in it last night. Not that he had slept.

He rolled over in the bed, gripping a pillow. This morning had not went any better. She just had to bring up that thing with Mars. Which was a totally different scenario! Besides, she had no reason not to trust him. She on the other hand…

Had left him. Would he ever get over that blow she dealt him in Kanto? As if that wasn't bad enough, after Ricky's betrayal, well… trust was in short supply with him nowadays. Now he had this to contend with.

Kyle leaned up, punching the mattress. The truth was, when he'd seen her with that other guy, it scared him to death. Just the thought that she might leave again ached every fiber of his being. He'd had a terrible nightmare last night that she left him right on the docks again, this time of Iron Island.

He couldn't lose her again. Even now, he knew he'd never been truly happy unless he was with her. And today, reminded him too much of his lonely days in Johto and Hoenn. And yet, he felt like he was pushing her away. He hated being angry with her.

He laid back down, hitting the bed with a thud. "Happy birthday to me."

**x-x-x**

"This stuff's so annoying!" Cynthia tediously cut around the paper hearts.

"I think it's fun!" Erika said cheerily.

"We're making good progress." I said, gluing down a photo of us playing in the snow at Lake Acuity. "We're half-way there and it's not even noon."

"Well, I say it's break time." Cynthia threw down her things. "How about a little spar Shonna?" She pulled a pokeball from behind her coat. "You have to train for the gym battle. Because you're having it tomorrow. I don't care what excuses you make up."

I laughed. "I'm not making stuff up, but okay. You have a steel-type I can practice against?"

"Sure do." She twirled the pokeball on her finger.

"Well," Erika picked up the hearts Cynthia was working on. "I guess I'll keep working."

"We won't take too long." I winked.

"Confident are we?" Cynthia turned, headed down the road a bit to a grassy meadow. "Let's do this here." She tossed out her pokeball. "Go!"

There, stood in front of me, a Lucario. "Oh you've got to be kidding me!" I looked up to the sky in frustration. "Does everyone in this region have a Lucario?"

"What do you mean?" Cynthia eyed me curiously as I tossed out my Lucario.

"I thought Lucario were supposed to be rare. But apparently not."

My Lucario stared at Cynthia's with wide eyes. I couldn't discern his expression.

"Well, mine's rare." Cynthia giggled.

"That so?" I shook my head looking at the Lucario that was even smaller than my own. "What's so special about it?"

"It's a girl." She smiled, watching her Lucario lick at a paw suggestively. It was then I realized why my Lucario was acting strange.

"And of course, girls are rare." I said, thinking to my training at the day-care center. "Around a 13% chance of one, right?"

"About that." Cynthia snickered.

"_She is special."_ I heard Lucario mutter. The female stared back at him.

"Oh great." I huffed. "Romance is blossoming while mine's in the middle of turmoil." I shook my head at him. "Well? You going to show her that new move of yours? Try and impress her?"

Lucario looked back at me with shock, then a bright smile. _"Yeah!"_ He charged up aura in his paws, forming it into a sphere about the size of a basketball.

"Wow." I grinned. "You did so well with your training Lucario. I'm proud of you."

"_Thanks."_ He smiled, before turning to the female. She turned her head, not impressed.

"Hey!" Cynthia yelled. "You're having a one-sided conversation! What's up?"

"My Lucario has a little crush on yours." I said, brushing back some of my frizzed blonde hair.

"That so?" She didn't seem surprised.

"_Mom! You're embarrassing me!"_ Lucario complained.

"Mind if I call her Lucy?" I ignored him, getting a little closer. "It'll help me keep track in my head."

"As long as she doesn't mind, I don't." Cynthia stood looking indifferent. "You going to try talking to her? You think you can do it?"

I walked up to the female lucario. "Is Lucy an okay name for me to call you?"

"_I like Lucia better."_ She tossed back the aura sensors dangling from her ears like it was hair.

"That is better." I smiled. "You certainly are a very pretty Lucario. I can tell Cynthia takes good care of you. How's you're aura Lucia? Obviously good enough to where we can talk."

Lucia twisted around in a way that made Lucario swoon_. "My aura is just fine thanks."_ She grinned, showing her fangs_. "And if you need proof…"_ She drew an aura sphere out that reached the size of a yoga ball, far surpassing Lucario's.

Lucario stood jaw-dropped_. "Wow! Amazing!"_ He dropped his ball of aura, making it fizzle on the ground.

Lucia grinned. _"You think yours is strong enough for me?"_ She chucked the aura sphere toward Lucario, pushing her paws out.

"Lucario! There's no way to dodge, so catch it!" I commanded. "I know you can do it!"

Lucario held out his paws, shoving them against the sphere, which had enough force to push him back. His feet dug into the earth as he was pushed back, causing dirt to fly up behind him. He bared his teeth, gritting them as he slowed to a stop.

"_He's tougher then he looks."_ Lucia said, watching. She didn't look so disinterested anymore.

"Force palm!" I cried, watching as Lucario carefully pulled one hand away from the sphere, now holding the huge ball of energy with only one paw. He swung the other paw across it, making it explode into a fizzle of blue glitter. He looked very cool as he stepped through the aura remnants.

"_So, do I pass your test?"_ He approached Lucia, head held high.

She placed a paw to her chin_. "You'll do."_

He grinned at his victory. _"Want to go somewhere and get more aquatinted?"_

"_Sounds nice."_ I saw a slight flush on her face, which she quickly hid with a paw.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Now weren't you the one Lucario who said lovey-dovey stuff was dumb?"

He gave me a look. _"That was then. This is…"_

"_Now?"_ Lucia rubbed her head under Lucario's chin, making his blue skin turn red.

"_Umm… yeah."_ He took her paw, walking off a ways away from us.

"Fine fine." I laughed. "We'll be over here if you need us, but Lucario…"

"_Yes?"_ He turned.

"Don't be going and making any little Riolu eggs! I can't handle that right now."

His entire body went rigid_. "Mom! Shut up!"_ His whole face turned red, making Lucia giggle.

Cynthia chuckled. "Like I said, I only got one end of that conversation, but it looks like they're hitting it off."

"Yeah." I watched as Lucia wrapped her arm around one of Lucario's. I felt a twinge of pain in my heart. I missed Kyle. "You don't have to be an aura guardian to see that."

"You're lucky. I wish I could hear their thoughts." Cynthia stood a few feet away from me. "You could watch them, and write a book on the mating rituals of pokemon. You'd make millions." She nudged me. "Not to mention help my research."

I laughed. "Come on Cynthia. Let's get back to work."

**x-x-x**

Kyle wandered out of his room once more. He knocked on her door, though he didn't have anything to say. When no answer came, he trudged down the hallway to the lobby. No one was around, besides Roark, who was chatting with Nurse Joy. Kyle looked around again. "Where could she be?"

Nurse Joy rolled her eyes. "She left hours ago."

A pain shot through him. "I've been so stupid." He muttered under his breath. "With Ricky out there somewhere looking for her, how could I let her get away?" He quickened his pace, headed for the door.

"Hey wait!" Roark called. "If you're looking for Shonna, Erika called me a while ago and said they'd found her. Her and Cynthia are trying to cheer her up."

Kyle let out a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't unguarded. He slumped into a couch in the lobby.

"You look low." Roark said, placing a hand on the back of the sofa. "You okay?"

"Just get lost." Kyle grunted.

"So defensive." Roark laughed. "You know what? Me and my dad got into it while the girls were away. Got into a battle. He beat me though."

"Which is why you're here." Kyle said, crossing his arms. "Healing your pokemon."

"Hey man, whatever happened with you and Shonna, try to get over it. You don't want to lose a girl like that." Roark blushed a bit. "She's so pretty and sweet."

Kyle jumped up. "I don't need you to tell me that!"

"Whoa! Calm down!" Roark backed away. "I'm just saying."

"Yeah I already know you had the hots for her when you met her!" Kyle took a step toward him. "So you went for the next best thing, one of her friends with the same temperament."

"I didn't even know they were friends until recently! But whatever! I can take a hint. I'm leaving okay?" Roark backed up, then ran out the door.

Kyle slumped back on the couch. He couldn't help but think of when they were in the pokemon center at Snowpoint City. He'd promised to always watch over her. And he had no clue where she was right now. He leaned his head back, closing his eyes. "I'm sick of feeling like this." He groaned.

**x-x-x**

"Alright!" Erika held the finished product in her hands as we trekked down the hill. "One love inspired scrapbook done!"

"Can I have it now Erika?" I grabbed at it, but she kept jerking it away.

"I don't know… I worked awfully hard on it. I might just keep it for memories once I get back to Kanto." She teased.

"Hmph." Cynthia took it away, handing it to me. "Phase one complete. The next stage is to get you looking a bit better Shonna."

"What?" I held the scrapbook close against me. "Oh, right. I guess I do look kind of bad."

"No offense." Erika smiled. "You'll need to wash that outfit though. It looks you went and rolled in the dirt with it."

I chuckled. "Heavy training with my pokemon."

"Hmm…" Cynthia looked at Erika. "You're too petite. But I could lend you one of my outfits Shonna."

"No thanks." I stared at the low-cut top she had on, which revealed too much for my taste.

"Ah well. We'll figure something out." Cynthia turned to the pair of Lucario following happily behind us. "Hey Shonna. How are our other lovebirds doing?"

"I'm tuning them out!" I yelled. "I'm not going to intrude."

"But what about our research book?" Cynthia joked.

I laughed at her, looking back to see my Lucario practically skipping beside Lucia. He looked very happy. It made me worry though. _Would he want to stay with me after finding this new friend?_ My heart ached. _I couldn't bear to lose him too. I don't know if he was listening in on my thoughts, but I needed him._

Lucario saw me staring back at him and winked. I turned around smiling_. If he wanted that though, I would of course let him._

It wasn't long before we found ourselves back in town. Me and Cynthia recalled our lucario with the promise we'd let them spend more time with each other later, and we all split up, agreeing to meet at my room in the pokemon center. Erika went to gather her make-up bag and nail polish, while Cynthia went in search for a cake. I ran straight down to the laundry room to change into the spare outfit I had stuffed away in my oversized purse, and throw my nicer one into the wash. I came back up in my pink t-shirt and overalls, and noticed Kyle fast asleep with his head leaned back on the pokecenter couch.

For some reason, I looked around to see if anyone was watching before sliding down beside him. He looked so gentle, and at ease when he slept. His russet colored hair was growing out some, and in need of a haircut. I liked for him to keep it short.

"You're so handsome." I whispered unconsciously. He hadn't stirred. It hurt so much be this close to him, but know that he still didn't want to have anything to do with me. "I miss you so much."

I scooted closer to him, leaning over his face. I couldn't help myself. I closed my eyes, gently pressing my lips against his, and sucking in the warm feelings it gave me. I pulled away, opening my eyes to see his deep green ones staring back at me. For a minute, I didn't move. His eyes were so captivating. I'd never looked this close into them. They were like a forest. Mostly green, with a hint of brown around the pupil.

"Good morning." His expression was stoic as he stretched his arms back and yawned.

"It's not morning." I said, remaining leaned over him.

"Isn't it?" Out of lack of any better place to put them, he placed his arms around me.

I blushed. "No. It's like… afternoon."

"Well then good afternoon." He stared back at me, making me blush more. I squirmed out of his arms.

"Good afternoon." I laid my hands in my lap, sitting beside him. "Sorry I woke you. I know you probably didn't get much sleep last night. I know I didn't." I mumbled the last part.

"I didn't." He turned in the seat toward me. His knees touched mine. "But it's okay. I…"

"Oh my gosh!" I jumped up, covering my head with my hands. "I forgot! I'm not ready!"

Kyle gave me a curious look. "What are you talking about?"

"Sorry Kyle! I've gotta go!" I picked up the box I'd stuffed our scrapbook in and took off down the hall.

"Hmm? Just what is that girl up to?" Kyle leaned over the back of the couch to watch me walk away.

Erika walked in the pokemon center with an armful of things. "Right! So all we have to do is…" Cynthia came up behind her covering her mouth as they walked by.

"Hi Kyle. Don't mind us. " Cynthia waved as the girls headed down the hall.

"Well that's not suspicious at all." Kyle felt a small smile creep across his face. The first he'd felt in a while. He chuckled a bit, before laying back down on the comfy couch.

"Sheesh!" Cynthia let go of Erika's mouth once they were out of earshot. "You almost ruined it there."

"Sorry." Erika said sadly.

"It's okay." Cynthia smiled at her. "You know, you're not so bad. I can see why Shonna's good friends with you."

"Same to you!" Erika beamed, running into my door. "Ouch."

I opened the door to my room, watching as they dropped tons of stuff on my bed. "Wow. What is all that?"

"I picked up a cake, a couple sandwiches for our lunch, and a new outfit for you tonight." Cynthia held up a low cut violet tank top, and a knee-length brown and purple plaid skirt. "What do you think?"

"Cynthia!" I blushed just looking at it. "It's too revealing."

"So conservative." She held the outfit up to me by the hangers. "I think it will really impress him."

"R-really?" I held the skirt up in front of me. "I just don't know."

Cynthia chuckled. "Okay fine. If it makes you feel any better, here." She pulled a brown jacket she had hidden in a bag.

"That does make me feel better." I sighed, knowing at least my arms would be covered.

"I think you'll be very pretty in it." Erika pulled out various eye shadows from her make-up bag. "With you looking this nice, he'll have to forgive you!"

"Maybe." I hoped.

"While she works on your make-up." Cynthia grabbed my hairbrush and ran to the other side, as I sat in a chair. "I'll work on your hair." She stroked the brush through all my tangles. "Your hair's a lot like mine Shonna. Really thick and straight. Have you ever thought about curling it?"

"I don't really do much to it. So no." I answered.

"How does a nice smoky eye sound?" Erika asked, digging out some gray and purple eye shadow.

"You guys do whatever you need to." I closed my eyes, placing my trust in them. "I can't thank you enough for all your help. Thanks to you, maybe there's still hope for a happy birthday for Kyle."

"It's no problem." Erika quietly chuckled.

"Not at all." Cynthia combed away, reaching for a curling iron she'd brought.

**x-x-x**

About one hour later, I was allowed to open my eyes, and I gasped at the sight. It was like one of those crazy makeover reality shows. I looked a lot better. My eyes glistened with a dark color hanging just above them. A pink lip-gloss made my lips look wet. And my hair hung in loose curls around my shoulders.

"What do you think?" Erika asked, packing away her things.

"I look hot." I said, blushing.

Cynthia smiled. "Pretty sexy. Mr. Pokemon Master will have a tough time staying mad at that."

"Now phase three?" Erika asked.

"Yep." Cynthia nodded. "I'll take it from here." She left the room.

"Okay." Erika handed me a pair of sandals. "You be sure to give these back to me when you get done. But we can't have you wearing those dreadful sneakers."

I looked down to my worn out tennis shoes. "I see what you mean."

"Get changed." She walked out as well. "I'll walk you up to the spot, so hurry."

I closed the door behind her, feeling nervous as I slipped into the new outfit they gave me. I packed away the scrapbook into my purse, and took one last look in the mirror. It felt like I was getting ready for a date. And I liked it.

**x-x-x**

Kyle got up when he heard a knock on his door. When he first opened it and saw the blonde hair, he thought it was Shonna. Until he saw the gray eyes staring back at him, instead of her beautiful blue ones.

"Ah, Kyle." Cynthia adjusted her fuzzy coat. "Could you come with me for a while? Shonna wants to see you."

"Where is she?" Kyle looked down each end of the hallway.

"Not here. But I can take you to her." Cynthia turned headed out of the pokemon center.

"Wait up. Why should I follow you?" Kyle grinned.

"What?" Cynthia looked a bit agitated that her plan wasn't working. "Just come on okay!"

"I don't know…" He teased. "What's in it for me?"

"Fine!" Cynthia fumed. "I'll battle with you after Shonna's gym match, just come on! We don't have all day."

Kyle laughed. "I was going to anyway, but okay. Thanks."

"Err." Cynthia groaned, turning on her heels once more.

They walked out of the pokemon center. The sun was headed down, and setting as they hiked out of town, through a short forested area, and up a mountain trail. "Couldn't you have picked a closer rendezvous point?"

"Quit complaining." Cynthia snapped. "And Kyle…" She lowered her voice. "Please try to be nice to Shonna today. We went through a lot of trouble for this. Just hear her out okay?"

"Okay…" He watched curiously as they approached a tourist pit stop area. The sky was orange, and the sun looked red reflecting on Lake Verity. Erika turned, heading down to greet them. Shonna stood looking out at the view. All he could see was the back of her, but he could plainly see she was wearing a skirt.

"Good luck." Erika said politely, before walking away with Cynthia down the hill.

He turned back to Shonna, walking a few steps toward her. "Shonna?"

"Hi Kyle." She turned, revealing just how beautiful she was. The sun glistened on her blonde hair, and cast an orange glow on her sapphire blue eyes. She had on make-up. Something he hadn't seen since her contest in Hearthome.

"Hi. You look very beautiful. I like the outfit." He walked over to stand by her side, never taking his eyes off her. She blushed, looking back to the view.

"I umm… have some things I want to talk with you about." She sat down on a nearby bench. He took a spot beside her. "First off," She pulled a book from her purse, placing it in his lap. "This is for you. Happy Birthday." He looked down at it. It had a picture of them on the cover. "It's a scrapbook." She continued. "I can't claim full credit for it though. Cynthia and Erika helped out a lot."

He flipped through the pages of the book, smiling and tracing a finger across each of the pictures. They looked so happy here. In all these pictures, both of them smiled brightly. He chuckled, looking at the pictures of her with snow all in her hair in Snowpoint City, and another of them and Jane, Charlie, and Hope all huddled together for a group photo. "I love this. Thank you."

"Keep going." She smiled, cautiously leaning in, placing her head on his shoulder to look closer.

He flipped through to the last page, where a tiny note was written in her handwriting.

It read: _Kyle, I know this is only the beginning of the memories we'll make together. I can't wait to share them all with you. I love you, Shonna._

Kyle felt his heart warm. And even a few butterfrees in the stomach. He knew he was starting to forgive her earlier today, but now, he couldn't feel any anger with her. He flipped the book closed and turned to stare into her eyes. A reflection of the still setting sun glistened on her glasses. He placed a hand on her face, pulling her toward him. He held her head close to his chest, letting his head rest on hers. "I love you too. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with me?"

"Of course." She sighed, breathing warm breath down the collar of his shirt, and making him blush. "There's nothing else I want in this life, but you." He felt her bury her face in his neck. "I'll go wherever you go from now on. I made that decision a long time ago. I'm never leaving you again."

He felt tears start to well up in his eyes. It was the words he'd wanted to hear so badly four years ago, when she'd left him on those docks of Kanto. "Shonna…"

"You're my best friend." She whispered. "You're everything to me. I don't want to lose that." He sucked back his tears, trying to hide them when she leaned back. He was surprised to see tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry for what I did Kyle. Please don't leave me."

"Leave you?" His heart sunk. "Shonna I could never leave you." He wiped away a tear from her eye, feeling the wet drop on his thumb. Another tear trickled down to her lips. He touched his finger to it, making her blush even more. "Do you promise no other man's lips have touched these?"

"I swear it." She looked up at him longingly.

He placed both hands on her face now, pulling her into a deep passionate kiss. He weaved his fingers through her hair, tasting the saltiness of her tears. Before long, he pulled away, looking back into her eyes. She had a look on her face that he loved to see. One that said she was completely enamored with him.

He gently nudged his forehead against hers, rubbing his nose on hers. "I believe you."

She smiled widely, wiping some of the tears away. She looked down at her jacket sleeve, seeing some eye shadow. "Oh no. I'm washing it all away."

Kyle chuckled, taking hold of her hand in his. "You're still beautiful."

She looked down embarrassed, then back up to the sunset. "It's going to be dark soon."

"I know." He gripped her hand tighter, pulling her up to stand beside him. "We should probably head back soon. Although a moonlight walk doesn't sound so bad."

Though it was getting darker, he could still see her blush. Suddenly she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. She was so tall now that her head sat comfortably on his shoulder. He felt her warm breath hit his ear as she whispered to him. "Kyle, could you stay in my room tonight?"

He felt chills run up his spine. "Well well." He laughed it off. "Somebody's turning quite bold."

Her face turned red. "I umm… I didn't mean it like that!" She pulled away, looking more and more embarrassed.

"Sure you didn't." He teased, wrapping a finger around her long curled hair. "What's the matter Shonna? Did you miss me?" He knew he certainly missed flirting with her like this.

"Well, actually yes." She admitted. "I missed you terribly last night. But it's not just that. I have another surprise for you."

"Is that so?" He took her hand once more and started leading her down the hill, just as the stars were starting to blanket the sky.


	44. Nerves of Steel!

**Warning: Some sexual themes and content in the first part of this chapter. If you wish to avoid it, you can skip down to the third section break, (the x-x-x's) and I promise you won't miss anything crucial to the story.**

**x-x-x**

Episode 43: Nerves of Steel!

I held the hand that wasn't wrapped around Kyle's up to my face, trying to hide the flush. We were walking slowly through the forest, almost back to town. I couldn't believe how well the night had went so far. Everything was going along without a hitch. And though I had tried to practice what I would say, I'd ended up speaking from my heart. Which probably was better anyway. I looked up at the night sky, thinking about how much I owed Cynthia and Erika for this. They were great friends. I nearly tripped in a silent daydream as Kyle tugged me along.

"You okay?" Kyle held tight to my hand.

"Yes. Sorry." I smiled.

He let go of my hand and wrapped it around my waist, pulling me along again. "I need to get a better hold on you. Don't want you falling in this pretty outfit of yours."

I looked away, feeling his arm around my back. I couldn't be happier as we walked back into Canalave City. The city lights hit his face, making his appearance harder. He looked very handsome, though I knew he'd had a rough day. I hugged him as we strolled into the pokemon center. Nurse Joy smiled before turning back to her work. Erika, Cynthia and Roark sat in the lobby. Cynthia winked to me as we headed back to the room. I unlocked the door, seeing the sight before me. They'd set up candles around the room, giving it dim light. They'd really gone too far with this whole thing. I giggled, feeling embarrassed as I took a seat by the table in the room. There was a box sitting there. Kyle took a seat beside me.

"What's this?" Kyle lifted up on the box, peeking inside.

"It's a birthday cake." I laughed. "I'm not sure if they picked up any birthday candles, but you're welcome to blow out the ones around the room."

Kyle gave a strange look at the cake that was hidden in the box, before bursting into laughter.

"What? What's wrong?" I got nervous. "I asked Cynthia to get chocolate. Did she get the wrong one?" I leaned over, peeking into the box to see something that looked like the top tier of a wedding cake, complete with a man and woman figure that sort of resembled us. "Oh no…. Cynthia!" I wanted to run out right now and jump all over her for this.

"Hahaha." Kyle laughed. "It's great." He reached for a knife sitting on the table.

"Oh no wait!" I grabbed it out of his hands, and a plate. "Let me."

**x-x-x**

Kyle watched as she leaned over the table, carefully removing the topper and cutting into it. Sure enough, it was chocolate on the inside of the white fondant, but that was not what he was looking at. The candlelight cast a warm glow on her face, and well, other things. He couldn't help but stare at the cleavage she was exposing in her new tank top. It hung loosely on her, showing off a small section of her bra strap. His heart quickened, and he blushed looking away.

"Does this look big enough for you?" She asked, making his eyes widen. He turned to see her offering him a slice of cake.

"Ah yes." He smiled nervously. "That's fine."

"Kay." She leaned back, taking a slice of her own. "I would sing for you, but you know."

"Please do." He took a bite of his cake. _Maybe that would help calm him down._

"Heh." She snickered. "Don't make fun of it okay?" She took a deep breath, setting her plate down. "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Kyle! Happy Birthday to you."

Amazingly, she even made that song sound good. She had a really beautiful voice. He always loved it when she would sing along to the songs she knew on the radio of his bike. "You sound like an angel when you sing."

"No!" She nervously shoved down a bite of cake. "I'm not that good. I've always liked to sing though. Ever since I was a little girl, I thought I'd be a singer. But, then I started going into this trainer business, which I think works better."

"Well, you're good at both." He took another bite. "In fact, I've been very impressed with your battling lately. You stand a strong chance at the league."

"Hmm… until I have to fight you that is." She had a gleam in her eye. "But I'll give you a good fight."

_Why is it everything she said turned him on tonight? Was it just the outfit? Or the fact they were closer than ever after tonight. He voted for the latter, though that skirt did not help things._ He glanced down to her pale but smooth legs. "I don't doubt that."

"I will. Though I'm sure you'll win. I'm prepared for that." She took a large bite of the cake, smudging some chocolate beside her lips. "I'm tired right now though." She set down her plate once more, and walked over to the bed, flopping down onto it. Her legs were slightly open and her skirt rolled back a bit, making Kyle nearly choke on his cake. She sat up, spreading her legs even more. "You okay Kyle?"

He pointed to her, still coughing.

She looked down and pushed her legs closed. "Sorry!" She turned red. "I'm just not used to wearing stuff like this. I'm sorry!"

He wondered if that really was the reason, or if she might be seducing him. His cough eased off. Ever since he'd met her, she was an innocent little angel who'd run from any form of his flirtation. But now he wondered… "Don't be sorry." He said slyly, getting up from the table and approaching her. He slowly crawled up on the bed with her, lying on top of her. Her eyes held a mixture of excitement and fear. "I should be the one apologizing, because I just can't resist you." He pressed his lips against hers forcefully, kissing her over and over, and stopping to lick the chocolate from the side of her mouth. He began weaving a hand through her hair, and letting the other travel down the length of her body. He then brought it back up her leg, pulling her skirt up along with it to just above her knee. He felt lightheaded already as he pulled away to gaze at her. She held a look in her eyes now that he had never seen before. Her arms reached around his shoulders, as she reached for his shirt, tugging on it hard, and sliding it off.

He wouldn't deny it, it killed him to do this, but he had to stop. He'd made a promise to himself, not to do this sort of thing until it was with his wife. _Being a guy with morals was difficult. _He let out a sigh, rolling himself off her and turning around to grin. "You're not as innocent as you appear."

Something snapped back in her eyes. Realization perhaps. They weren't as glazed over anymore, and the flush on her face intensified. "Oh my god." She mumbled, pulling her skirt back down.

"Hmm." He brushed back a bit of her hair. "You surprised me."

"I surprised myself." She rolled over, looking distraught.

"Hey. It's okay." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. It won't happen again."

"Yeah." She groaned, crossing both arms in front of her. He felt bad now.

"Shonna?" He sat up, pulling her body close to his. "Are you mad at me?"

"No." She grumbled, blushing as she laid her head on his bare chest. "More mad at myself. I thought I'd have more… restraint than that."

"That's okay you know." He said, stroking her hair. "To feel those feelings. It's only natural."

"I just didn't think it was that natural." She tried to bury her face in his chest, hiding her blush.

This made him laugh. "You really are so cute when you're embarrassed."

**x-x-x**

This really was way too much in one day for me. I couldn't discern why I'd acted liked that at all. It was so unlike me. But, at the same time, I couldn't deny that some part of me enjoyed it.

Kyle was already falling asleep beside me. He had one arm still wrapped protectively around me as we laid on our sides. _I would do anything for him. That was probably my problem._

He shifted in his sleep, turning to where his back was facing me. He still had his shirt off, which made me a bit uncomfortable. But then again, I was the one who started that. I stared at his back for a long time. A white streak caught my eye on his slightly tan body.

I ran a finger down it. "Is this a scar?"

"Yeah." Kyle yawned, rolling over awakened. "You can thank Ricky for that."

"How did that happen?" I asked.

"Well, the guy's a backstabber." Kyle laughed.

I thought he was joking. At first. "He stabbed you?"

"He carries around a knife." Kyle said sleepily. "One of the reasons I want you to stay away from him."

"I've never seen a knife on him." I said, trying to think back.

"You're lucky then." He yawned. "But don't push your luck. Really, you've got to stay away from him at all costs."

"Kay." His yawn made me yawn. I silently thought about this for a few minutes. "But what if…"

Kyle was already back asleep.

**x-x-x**

I woke up bright and early to get ready that morning. I started my morning routine. I took a shower, and used the hair dryer in the room. My hair was instantly back to its slightly frizzed but straight phase. I sighed, putting the revealing outfit back on. I'd try to sneak out and change back into my normal one. I certainly didn't want a repeat of last night.

I blushed, sighing once more. _Or do I?_

"Gah." I shook the thoughts out of my head, sliding the skirt up on me. I threw over the brown jacket, and walked out of the bathroom. Kyle groaned, still asleep. I smiled at him, placing the blanket back over him. "Be right back okay?" I kissed him on the cheek before walking out, locking the door behind me.

There was no one in the lobby now except Cynthia. She looked up at me smiling. "How'd last night go?"

"Good." I said nervously. _Too good._

"You ready for your gym battle today?" She asked.

"I am." I grinned. "As soon as I get out of this outfit. I can't battle in this."

Cynthia laughed. "I'll be waiting here for you."

"Okay." I rushed to the laundry room, changing quickly back into my tan pants, purple t-shirt. I left the blue corduroy jacket hanging over my shoulder. It was getting warmer, so I really didn't need it. I walked back out to the lobby, handing Cynthia my outfit from before.

"No keep it!" She held her arms up. "I bought it for you."

"Well then let me pay you for it." I said, offering up some money.

Cynthia got up, and took the outfit over to the pc. She stuck it in an item holder and into a slot. "Send it home. I expect to see you wearing it every now and then though."

"You do?" I sat down at the pc, logging into item deposit. I decided to send my blue jacket home as well.

"Yes. Now that I don't have the league to worry about for a while, I'm going to be home in Celestic Town. That's right by Solaceon, so I'll also be expecting visits from you." She smiled. "Grandma said she misses your visits."

"I will." I smiled back. "Our Lucario will like that as well."

"Yeah." Cynthia didn't seem happy about that.

"She likes being called Lucia by the way." I said, staring at the pc screen. "She said you can call her that."

"Is that so?" Cynthia chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good morning!" I heard Kyle's cheery voice behind me. He placed both hands on my shoulders. I leaned back in my chair to look at him. He had on his green polo with the black long sleeve shirt underneath. He must have put his thick leather jacket up. "How's my angel doing?" He leaned down to kiss me on the cheek.

"I'm fine." I logged off. "And ready for my gym battle."

**x-x-x**

I pushed open the heavy doors to Canalave's gym once more. This time however, I had Cynthia and Kyle to help me. And once more, I was greeted with the sound of arguing. Roark and Byron were fighting over whose pokemon was better. Erika stood quietly in the middle.

"Craniodos!" Roark screamed.

"No Bastiodon!" Byron blathered.

"Offense!"

"Defense!"

"You're wrong!"

"No you're wrong!"

"Excuse me!" I yelled out. "What's it take to get a gym battle around here?"

Byron turned to me, hands on his hips. "Did you do what I asked?"

"Yes." I lied. "I fought Riley and won." I didn't like lying about it, but that's what Riley told me to do. Besides, I was fairly confident my Rapidash would have made quick work of his one Lucario anyway.

"I don't believe it." Byron turned away.

"He said if you don't believe him, to drop him a call."

"Well fine." Byron disappeared to a small room in the back of the gym. "It's been a while anyway."

"Yeah right." Roark rolled his eyes.

"Here Erika." I handed her the brown sandals from my purse. "Thanks for letting me borrow them."

She sat them down into a large purse she had, which was probably more like a travel bag. "I take it all went well?" She looked to Kyle for confirmation.

"Yes." He nodded. "What about the candles? Do you want them back too? I put them in my PC storage if you do."

"No. Keep those." She grinned. "They're free samples of a special blend my gloom and vileplume have been working on back at my gym. I think it's going to be a big seller."

Cynthia jumped in. "If you ever come up with a perfume of that scent, let me know."

"Thank you both. For everything." I gave them a quick hug before Byron reappeared.

"He says you did in fact defeat him. But, he wants to talk to you." Byron eyed me suspiciously.

"Ah." I looked at Kyle, who looked none to pleased about the idea. "Tell him I can't."

"It's okay." Kyle said, taking my hand. "But I'm coming with you."

"Oh okay." I followed him back to the small room, where nothing but a video phone sat in the corner. I clicked a button on the keyboard to turn it to speakerphone, which I think made Kyle feel better.

Riley's face looked happy, and his busted lip was already scabbed over. "Hey there! Glad to see you're both doing well."

"Why did you want to talk to me?" I asked, cutting to the chase.

"Well, honestly I just wanted to check and see how you're doing with the aura training. Have you learned anything new?"

"Well, I think the telepathy's working much better. I was able to hear another one of my pokemon."

Kyle stood behind me, arms crossed and looking at me strangely, before it clicked with him the only other one I had that would have those capabilities. He gave me a look saying he was impressed, but also a little mad. I was sure he'd lecture me about that later.

"That's great!" Riley looked impressed as well. "Anything else?"

"Yes!" I remembered. "I have a friend who also has a Lucario. I was able to speak with hers as well."

"You're moving right along with that then." Riley smiled. "I guess that's all I had to ask."

"Riley." Kyle spoke up. "Can you tell me how the Skarmory on the island are doing?"

"The Skarmory?" He thought about it. "The day you two showed up they were on edge. I think probably because that red-haired man's ship was too close to their nests. Since then though, they've been calm. I've noticed one there that I haven't seen in quite some time."

"That's mine." Kyle said quietly. "Mine decided to stay there while we were on the island."

"Well, she looks to be very happy. I saw her this morning playing with her offspring."

"That's good."

I looked back at Kyle. "I didn't know that."

"You missed a lot." He said with a smirk.

"Hmph." I turned back to Riley on the screen. "Well, I'd better go now."

"Good luck with your battle!" Riley waved as I clicked the call off. The screen turned black.

"Thanks." I pulled out a pokeball from my purse as I opened the door. "I'm pumped! Let's do this!" Kyle laughed at my exuberance.

"Well, I'm ready too. The rules are three against however many you see fit. You can switch out if you wish." Byron took a side at one end of the stadium. Roark and Erika stood behind him. Kyle, Cynthia and I took the other side. This gym had tons of rocks littering the floor, but some of them were metallic, indicating they were solid steel. Before he even announced it, I knew what his first pokemon was. It rose from the rubble, standing tall and serpentine. "Steelix! Demolish her pokemon!"

"Steelix." I placed Rapidash's pokeball back in my purse. "Not yet then. I'll go with you, Torterra!"

My giant turtle pokemon leaped from the pokeball, running to me. He was hungry. "Tor-terra!"

"Hehe!" I giggled at him, pouring a can of pokekibble down his throat. He munched away happily. "If you do well Torterra, I promise to fix you a whole batch of poffins all to yourself. You don't even have to share with Munchlax."

"Terra?" His eye's sparkled. "Tor!" He turned to the Steelix, looking invigorated and determined.

"Steelix! Start off with Slam!" Byron cried. He struck a pose with his command, making Roark roll his eyes behind him.

"Steeeee…" Steelix groaned, before speeding forward toward us.

"Torterra! Use Rock Climb to get away!"

"Terra!" Torterra extended his claws. He raced to the left, effectively dodging. His claws made it easy for him to maneuver around the dirt and rock, letting him get behind Steelix with ease.

"Razor Leaf!"

A flurry of leaves shot out from his back, clanging against Steelix.

"Rock Throw, then Bind!" Byron grit his teeth.

Steelix whirled its tail around, tossing several rocks from the stage in Torterra's path. He reeled from the chunks that smacked against him. While Torterra was distracted with that, Steelix scooped him up with his tail. He twisted it around him tightly.

"Ter!" Torterra winced in his grip.

"Mega Drain!" Suddenly I was very grateful I'd taught him this move.

Torterra bit down and began sucking away Steelix's energy little by little.

"Let go Steelix! It's draining you! Try Flash Cannon!" Byron chuckled to himself.

"Steeeeelix!" Steelix raised its head back, and hit Torterra head on with the silver beam, just as he let go of him. Torterra stood singed and shaky.

"Flash Cannon? Shoot." I muttered. "That's a pretty powerful move." I pointed now to Torterra, getting his attention. "Hang in there Torterra! Show him what you've got with Earthquake!"

"Terrrrra!" Torterra raised up, slamming his body down. Cracks formed in the ground below them, making Steelix fall into a crevice. It cried out in surprise, but Torterra slammed down again, making pressure surge through the fissures. Steelix was trapped and fainted.

"Return!" Byron held up the pokeball that zapped his pokemon out of the now large gap in his gym floor. "You won't be pulling that trick with this one." He released a Bronzor that floated onto the stage.

"Wow! Go Shonna! You're doing great!" Erika cheered. Byron shot her a look that made her stop.

I smiled. Torterra looked determined to prove his worth, though I knew he wouldn't last too much longer.

"Tor! Torterra!" He turned back to me, awaiting a command.

"Right. Okay! Use Razor Leaf!" I called.

The storm of leaves pushed Bronzor back a bit. The pokemon made a strange noise when it did so.

"Bronzor! Confuse it!" Byron called.

Bronzor let out a ray of light. The violet colored beam hit Torterra head on.

"That's annoying." I mumbled, watching Torterra struggle to figure out what was going on. He was stumbling around and hurting himself. "You did great Torterra! Return!" He was zapped safely back to his pokeball.

"Who will you pick next?" I heard Cynthia whisper.

"Well, I know I use him a lot, but I can't think of anyone better than you for this… Lucario!" I tossed out his pokeball.

Lucario looked around for a minute, taking in the situation.

"Looking for this?" Cynthia tossed out a pokeball. Lucia appeared behind her.

Lucario grinned from ear to ear as Lucia watched from behind me.

"What's up with him?" Kyle asked.

"Our Lucario's have a bit of a love affair going on." Cynthia whispered back.

"_Good luck."_ I heard Lucia say seductively.

Lucario's heart looked like it was going to pound out of his furry chest. _"O-okay!"_

"Well. Looks like all my pokemon have motivation to win today." I shook my head. _Okay Lucario! Hit it with Dark Pulse! _I used telepathy, if only to surprise Byron.

Dark energy pulsed out across the stage, making my hair blow back a bit. The attack hit Bronzor hard, making it almost fall from its floating state.

"What the?" Byron stepped back a bit. "Bronzor! Use Confuse Ray again."

Again, Bronzor shined a purple, confusion inducing ray. But this time, I knew it wouldn't work. It always seemed to me that confusion does little when you have a strong relationship with your pokemon. And it doesn't get much stronger than us.

_Lucario! Snap out of it! I know you can do this!_ I screamed in my head.

Lucario only stumbled for a moment before shaking loose of the spell. _"Right!"_

"How?" Byron asked bewildered.

"I share a trait with your adopted son." I said, interrupting the battle. "I can freely speak to my Lucario. I'm not sure why I inherited this ability, but I'm glad of it." I smirked, feeling confident. "I'll use it to beat you Byron."

"Big words." Byron huffed. "Bronzor! Gyro ball!"

_Aura Sphere!_ I commanded.

The pair of pokemon formed a ball at each end of the field. I watched as each one grew, until Bronzor's stopped. Lucario's Aura Sphere grew twice as big, and when the pair released their attacks, the Aura Sphere seemingly swallowed the Gyro Ball whole before striking Bronzor. The pokemon floated down to the ground, making the sound of a coin hitting pavement. It was knocked out.

_That move is awesome! Great job Lucario!_ I cheered for him internally.

Lucario put a hand behind his head looking embarrassed_. "Gee thanks!"_

"_Very impressive." _Lucia put a paw to her chin, evaluating his performance.

Lucario gulped nervously, turning back around for the battle. _"Okay! Bring it on! I'll take on all the rest of his!"_

A bastiodon appeared from Byron's next pokeball. _Hmm. That's enough impressing for you loverboy. _I pointed over my shoulder to Lucia. _Go be with her. I'm going to use a different pokemon._

"_Aw man."_ Lucario sulked_. "Really?"_

"I can't have you fight all my battles Lucario." I said this aloud. "Now go on."

"_Okay Mom."_ He reluctantly joined Lucia's side. I heard her giggle at him in the background.

"That was so great!" Erika cheered again. Again, Byron shot her a look.

"Roark. Teach your girlfriend whose side to be on here." Byron grumbled.

"You think I'm rooting for you?" Roark took Erika's hand and dragged her over to my side of the gym. "I hope Shonna wins!"

Byron looked utterly shocked. I wondered if maybe his son's lack of support for him had knocked some sense into him. He and his bastiodon stood motionless on the other end.

"Now." I pulled out my pokeball I had planned for this match originally. This was by far the best type advantage. Not to mention my strongest one, save for Palkia, which was not possible right now. "Go Rapidash!"

"Brrrr…." Rapidash whinnied, stretching his legs a bit.

"Wow." Cynthia stood in awe behind me. "A shiny. And with such pretty cool gray flames!"

"It must be at a very high level." Roark commented. "It looks it."

"He is." Kyle answered. "She never stopped training him, even after she left Kanto. So he's a very strong Rapidash."

"Geez." I turned around to face them. "You guys are embarrassing me."

"Bastiodon!" Byron screamed. "Ancientpower!"

"Oh!" I turned back around swiftly. _I'd better keep my eye on the battle._

"Bastio!" Bastiodon roared as a light engulfed him. It was similar to when a pokemon evolves, but with this, Bastiodon was using his power to lift up small chunks of rock, and hurl them toward Rapidash.

"Brrrrrr!" Rapidash without command turned up the gray flames on his back, making them surround him in a protective barrier. All the small chunks of rock disintegrated on contact.

"Err…" Byron growled at this. "Iron Defense!"

The light shimmered on Bastiodon, raising his defense.

"I know what you're trying to pull." I yelled. "But this is still going to hurt him. Rapidash! Flamethrower!"

A burst of flames erupted from Rapidash's mouth, hitting Bastiodon's shield-like head. It obviously didn't feel good, but Bastiodon slowly walked forward with its face held out.

"Iron Head!" Byron called out. Bastiodon charged forward, ignoring the flames.

"Look out Rapidash! Flare Blitz!" I cried. _Iron Head is a devastating steel type move, but if I counter with another devastating move, we just may survive it._

Rapidash's flames intensified. They totally surrounded him as he ran forward, tackling into Bastiodon head on.

When the two collided, it caused dust to rise from the cracked dirty floor. I struggled to see who had came out in that collision. But when the dust settled, I could see Rapidash standing strong in his silver flames. Somehow, Bastiodon was completely flipped on his back, but not quite finished. I seized the opportunity while Byron stood stunned. "Bounce Rapidash!"

Rapidash leaped gallantly off a high rock, coming back down on Bastiodon hard with his hooves.

"Bast!" Bastiodon winced before fainting on the ground. Rapidash calmly jumped off as Byron recalled him.

"_Show off."_ Lucario smirked. Rapidash looked up to him with a sort of smile.

"Yay! Great Job Rapidash!" I ran up and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Fine. Maybe I was wrong about you." Byron admitted, pacing toward me. "Your pokemon were quite strong. So you earned the Mine Badge." He handed a shiny metal badge to me, which I scooped up joyfully.

I held it in between my fingers, pinning it to a spot in my trainer's case. "So now Byron, you'll quit giving Roark such a hard time? I think you see that his loss to me was no fluke."

"You're crazy if you think I'll stop arguing with my son. That's not something that can be fixed overnight." Byron glared across the gym toward Roark.

"Stubborn old man." Roark grunted.

"But, I hate that he doesn't even support me in battles. So, if it means giving him a little respect, in order to earn some of his, I'll do my best." Byron put on a smile.

"Huh?" Roark looked shocked.

_Not exactly the perfect happy ending I wanted, but it'll do. _I smiled as I recalled Rapidash.


	45. The Pokemon Master Brawl!

**x-x-x**

Episode 44: The Pokemon Master Brawl!

"Now." Kyle stepped out from his spot he was leaned against on the wall. "Byron, may we borrow your gym for a bit?"

"Please?" Cynthia stepped forward. "I will gladly help pay for any repairs if you allow it."

"Oh wow." There were no seats in this gym, so I walked over to stand by Roark and Erika. "Are you two really going to fight?"

"Well." Byron spat. "Wouldn't this be one for the record books? The woman who has held position of former league champion here for years, against a 3 time different league champion." He grinned. "I'd be honored."

Cynthia turned back to all of us and smiled sweetly before taking the side of the gym Byron was on. "Four on four okay Kyle? I'm not feeling up to a full battle."

"Whatever." Kyle reached around for a pokeball on his belt. "I've switched out some of mine for a couple I trained in Johto."

"Really?" I blurted out. "I don't think I've ever seen your Johto ones!"

He smiled back at me. "Hope I can impress you then."

"You always do." I sighed.

"_I'd better go for now."_ Lucia detached herself from Lucario's side, giving him a quick lick on the cheek. _"Wait for me?"_

"_S-sure."_ He answered nervously. _"I will."_

Lucia walked to stand by Cynthia's side. _I wonder if Cynthia plans to use her as one of the ones for the battle. I suppose that all comes down to what pokemon Kyle has though._

Kyle released a tall black and tan beast, which had fire spurting from all corners of the back of its neck. _A Typhlosion? She won't be using her lucario then._

"Go…" She paused. "Spiritomb!" The pokemon appeared, looking like a small base sitting in the middle of the floor. A wispy purple mist swirled out of it, with eerie green eyes and a grin to match.

"Tomb! Spiritomb!" It said in a creepy voice.

"That thing freaks me out." I whispered. I heard Erika giggle at me.

"Cynthia has some really powerful pokemon as well." Roark commented.

"Flamethrower Typhlosion!"

At the command, Typhlosion's spewed flames on the cringing Spiritomb. Spiritomb still had a goofy grin on its face.

"Shadow Sneak, and Hypnosis." Cynthia whispered.

Spiritomb lunged from its base, striking into Typhlosion. Both pokemon stood sturdy. Once close enough, Spiritomb glared its frightening green eyes into Typhlosion's. Typhlosion fell over, fast asleep.

"Dream Eater!" Cynthia screamed.

"Tomb Tomb Tomb!" Spiritomb laughed, latching onto Typhlosion's head. Typhlosion groaned under the slow, damaging attack.

"What's he doing?" Roark asked under his breath. "He's not even trying to awaken it."

"And he could quite easily." Erika commented. She turned to me. "Doesn't he have some kind of flute that does that?"

"Yes." I nodded. "But, I think I know what he's doing. I think he's using Typhlosion's ability. Blaze means that when the pokemon is low on HP, their fire type moves will become much more powerful." I tried to recall what else I'd learned about it. "It's a risky move though."

Spiritomb kept sucking away until Typlosion's eyes snapped open, they glistened bright red. He looked enraged.

"Phlosion!" Typhlosion jumped up, and the fire on the back of his neck rose.

"Uh oh." Cynthia reeled back. "Spiritomb! Put it back to sleep!"

"Smokescreen." Kyle said calmly.

Typlosion coughed up a ball of smoke on the ground before Spiritomb could react. It searched through the haze, but couldn't meet Typlosion's gaze.

"Finish it with Flame Wheel!" Kyle grinned, watching Typhlosion turn into a rolling inferno.

"Ty! Plosion!" Typlosion rolled right through Spiritomb, making its clay base roll across the floor. Spiritomb began sucking itself into it, looking glum.

"Well. That settles that one." Kyle held up his pokeball, pressing the button. "Return Typhlosion."

"Pursuit!" Cynthia screamed.

"Tomb!" Spiritomb rose back up, and just as Typhlosion was about to be zapped back to his ball, he struck him in the back, knocking the fiery pokemon out. "Tomb Tomb Tomb." It chuckled, before fainting itself. Cynthia recalled it.

"That was quite a trick." Kyle frowned, then chuckled a little. "Then again, I've had to teach my pokemon to play dead every now and then."

Cynthia just smiled at this. "Okay! Next up, Garchomp!"

Kyle let out a bright smile when he saw the deep purple colored dragon take stage. "I have one of those as well, but I'll choose another one to fight this battle."

"He has a Garchomp too?" I was stunned. "I'm going to have to find out what other pokemon he has hidden away."

Kyle's face turned serious. Back to the way he normally looked in battles, focused. "Scizor! Go!" He tossed the bright red bug out onto the field.

"Oh wow." Cynthia flicked one of her hairpins back. "I can tell that one is very strong. But let's see how it fairs against Garchomp's Sandstorm attack!"

"Gar! Gar! Chomp!" Garchomp growled as he whipped his wing-like arms around, making all the dirt and sand from the rocky field fly up in our faces. Everyone on the side of the gym I was on, held their arms up in response. In between my squinting eyes, I could see Scizor doing something with his arms as well.

"That's right Scizor!" Kyle called out. "Razor Wind!"

Suddenly the sand began whipping the other way. Both pokemon began whipping the sandstorm back and forth in a show of their sheer power. My hair was flying all over the place, making it just about impossible to see.

"Garchomp!" I heard Cynthia yell. "Use Dig!"

Garchomp dug under the rocky earth. It made a tunnel that I was sure was aimed to reemerge right beneath Scizor.

"Scizor!" Kyle cried. "Don't let the wind distract you. Just close your eyes and feel out where it will appear."

Scizor stood perfectly still now. The sandstorm was lessening, and tiny pebbles shook above where Garchomp was tunneling.

"X marks the spot!" Kyle yelled, with a smirk on his face.

"What does that mean?" Roark asked bewildered.

I laughed, holding a hand above my eyes to try and see. "Very funny Kyle."

Scizor left its eyes closed as some dirt behind him began to crumble. He quickly turned on his feet, moving his claws in an x-scissor attack. He struck Garchomp before he'd even got all the way to the surface.

"Garrrrr!" Garchomp growled, reeling back a bit. It leaped out of the hole, and dashed back to the other end of the gym. It made a flying leap across the giant crack in the floor from earlier in my battle. By now, the sandstorm had dissipated.

"Get in there with Metal Claw!" Kyle leaned forward toward the battle.

Cynthia leaned in as well. Both of them looked intense. "Counter with Dragon Claw!"

Scizor leaped the gap, chasing after Garchomp. The pokemon clashed at each other, locking claws. They engaged in a sort of shoving match. Garchomp pushed at Scizor, trying to get him to fall into the crevice behind him. Scizor looked back nervously, and began flapping the wings on his back to gain an advantage. It pushed Garchomp back a bit.

"Gar!" Garchomp shoved hard at Scizor again, pushing him right to the edge. I could see some dirt crumble beneath Scizor's feet.

"Sci-zor." Scizor grinned, as if he knew what was coming.

"Strength! Now!" Kyle screamed.

With that, Scizor latched down on Garchomp with his claws, flipping the dragon right over his head. He tossed him headfirst into the pit below.

"Garrrrrr!" It cried out before hitting the bottom with a thud. It didn't come back up. Cynthia had to walk over to the middle of the field in order to recall it.

"Well that didn't go over well." Cynthia said, taking her place back at the end of the gym.

"Smart move." I heard Byron mutter. "Using the new crack in my gym floor to his advantage."

"Sorry about that." I whispered.

"Don't worry about it." He smiled. "I just might keep it. It may come in handy as a new hiding spot for Steelix."

Roark laughed at this. I smiled, knowing they were already a little better than they were before.

"Good job Scizor." Kyle returned him. "Next up?"

"Next up," Cynthia tossed out a pokeball, letting a happy little white thing float out. "Is Togekiss!"

"That one's cute!" Erika squealed. I had to agree. It floated effortlessly above the arena.

"Then I'll choose Charizard." He released his Charizard, which sat down on the rocky ground, spreading his wings.

"Charrr." Charizard growled, snorting out embers.

I expelled a loud sigh. The last time I'd seen this pokemon was when Kyle was so mad at me. I hadn't asked, but I had to assume Charizard evolved during all the madness on Iron Island. In any case, it looked like he'd become much more powerful.

"Sweet Kiss!" Cynthia commanded.

"Toge!" Togekiss pressed a wing to its lips, blowing a kiss to Charizard.

"Char?" Charizard huffed at it, unaffected. He was lucky he hadn't been confused.

"It's so cute!" Me and Erika said together in girly voices.

Cynthia laughed, Kyle couldn't help but smile as well, though he shook his head in disapproval.

"Charizard! Fly after it and hit it with a Wing Attack!"

Cynthia looked up to her Togekiss. "Hit it with Sky Attack!"

Both pokemon took to the air and repeatedly clashed into each other. It was difficult to tell who was doing better out of the two.

Kyle had that serious look again. "For something so cute, it's actually really powerful."

"Zarrr…" Charizard flew backwards a bit when one Togekiss's attacks hit him hard in the gut.

"No more fooling around. Charizard use Flamethrower!" He yelled.

"Dodge!" Cynthia said, looking just as serious.

Togekiss swiftly flew away with each blast of flames that followed it. Charizard was right on its tail when it suddenly did a loop to get above Charizard. Annoyed, Charizard aimed flames above him. Togekiss dodged, and the flamethrower struck the ceiling above him.

"No Charizard don't!" Kyle cried. But it was too late.

"What's wrong?" Roark asked.

I watched in horror as the sprinkler system above us began churning. The tiny silver disks spun wildly, releasing more water than I'd expected to fall from them.

"I've been meaning to fix that. The water pressure's set too high." Byron held his head looking a bit ashamed.

Water poured down from the sprinklers. Togekiss flew gracefully around the room, but Charizard was wincing as the water sprayed down on the exposed flames of his tail.

"Char!" It cried out. It wouldn't last much longer in that.

"Togekiss!" Cynthia smiled up at her pokemon. "Finish this with Sky Attack!"

"Come on Charizard…" Kyle looked frustrated.

Togekiss struck into Charizard's stomach again, but just as it hit, Charizard's eyes gleamed wildly.

"Charrrrrrrrrrr!" It growled out a huge flamethrower attack that was comparable to some of the ones I'd seen Arcanine dish out before. The Blaze ability had kicked in for Charizard as well.

"Togekiss!" Togekiss fainted from the super effective attack. It began plummeting to the ground, but Cynthia recalled it before it hit.

"Char…" Charizard began to calm down, and looked very weakened as the water kept raining down on it. It was beginning to fill in the crack on the ground before the sprinklers finally stopped. Charizard closed its eyes and began falling toward the ground as well. Kyle held up the pokeball to return it.

"I can see why you held the league champion title for so long." He smiled. "You're good."

"Why thank you." She flicked her wet hair back.

I attempted to wring mine out. All the sand and dirt that was built up in my hair from before now spilled out in a dirty little puddle. "Geez." I cringed. "I just washed it this morning too."

Erika giggled, shaking out her short black hair. "Have you ever thought of getting it cut?"

"Nope." I brushed my fingers through it. It ran all the way down my back.

"Well. I guess this determines it." Roark lifted his glasses off his face, wiping the mist off them. "Cynthia has one left."

"And it's going to be a difficult one." Cynthia remarked, yelling across the gym. "Go Milotic!"

The serpent shaped pokemon slithered into the makeshift creek in the middle of the floor. It filled it up the rest of the way with a quick water pulse.

"Great." Kyle put on hand on his hip, before pulling away a pokeball from his belt. "Guess it won't be drying up out there, but at least it won't be moving either. Right Kabutops?" He released an auburn fossilized beast. His long sword-like arms glistened.

"Butops." Kabutops jutted his arms out in a defensive pose.

"Wow. It's creepy." Erika hid behind Roark a bit. "I think I saw a horror movie with Kabutops in it once."

"That's silly." I chuckled. "You know those movies aren't real." Though I couldn't deny Kabutop's sharp scythes for arms intimidated me too.

"Bu Buto?" Kabutops stood up straighter, then broke out into a sort of cute dance. He wiggled his arms around happily. "Butops!"

"Wow. That one has a unique personality." Cynthia remarked.

"Sure does." I watched with wide eyes as Kabutops ran up and hugged Milotic, unknowingly sinking his arms into it.

"Mi! Tic!" Milotic was taken back, and winced at the cuts.

"Bu? Butops!" Kabutops pulled away looking sad. "Bu Bu!"

"Is it sorry about that?" I laughed at this strange pokemon.

"Oh gosh." Cynthia looked just as shocked as everyone else. The only one not stunned by this strange act was Kyle, who simply chuckled in amusement.

"Milo!" Milotic glared at Kabutops. It had an evil stare.

"Bu?" Kabutops scratched his arms together, looking guilty.

"Enough of this!" Cynthia yelled with annoyance. "Milotic! Use Wrap!"

Milotic scooped up Kabutops and squeezed around him. One of Kabutops arms escaped its grasp and slashed across Milotic's scaly tail.

"Mi!" It cried out.

"Bu?" Kabutops gave an innocent look. _Does it even know how deadly it is?_

"Milotic!" For a normally complacent pokemon, Milotic looked fed up with Kabutops. It smacked its tail against Kabutops, knocking it into the water with it. Kabutops glided around with ease. He looked to be quite the strong swimmer.

Kyle just laughed at the scene. "Kabutops! Quit messing around! Use Rock Tomb!"

"Bu!" I heard Kabutops gurgle from beneath the water as it slashed away at the rock wall around him. He cut down boulders that collapsed on Milotic, encasing it in rock.

"Milotic! Recover!" Cynthia screamed. "And Water Pulse!"

"Right back at it!" Kyle yelled.

It was difficult to tell what was going on in the water, but I could see Milotic shine brightly, recovering some HP. Kabutops and Milotic then forced waves of water at each other. Neither side was giving in. Either way, it didn't look like it was having much effect on either pokemon.

"Twister!" Cynthia called out.

A giant whirlpool began forming in the water. It swirled around in the small space, forcing both pokemon up toward the surface. Kabutops was hitting against some of the rock as it spun through the water.

Kyle ran a hand through his brown hair anxiously. "Dig your way out!"

Kabutops forced his sharp arms through the rock, digging his way through a tunnel and away from the twister. Water pooled up behind him. He leaped out and shook off. "Bu Butops!" He smiled.

"Milotic!" Milotic leaped out of the water, looking angry.

"Bu! Bu!" Kabutops ran up and hugged the pokemon once more. And once more, he sliced through its skin.

"Milo!" Milotic wrapped its slender tail around him.

"Ka? Bu!" Kabutops looked grateful for the return of the embrace, before Milotic slung him across the gym.

"Kabutops!" Kyle called out. "You okay?"

"Bu Butops!" Kabutops stood back up, looking a bit dizzy, but no worse for wear.

"What's up with that thing? Does it ever give up?" Cynthia stared wide-eyed. "Milotic! Give it another good Water Pulse!"

Milotic reared back to release the water. As it did, Kabutops snuck up behind it.

"No more hugs Kabutops." Kyle laughed. "Rock Tomb!"

"Tops!" Kabutops swiftly slashed the rock formations around them, making them fall on top of Milotic.

"Miloooo..." Milotic let out a couple bubbles in frustration before flopping down to the ground, knocked out.

"Unbelievable." Byron said in a low tone. "He beat our former champion."

"I say that's just like you actually won the championship!" I yelled to Kyle.

"I don't know about that." With a quick pat on the head, he recalled Kabutops. "But is was certainly one of the more difficult battles I've had.

Cynthia smirked recalling her Milotic from the pile of rubble. "Well, it's nice to know I gave you a challenge Mr. Pokemon Master."

He smiled. "Same to you Ms. Pokemon Master."

Something about that gave me a twinge of jealousy. I think I just wanted to be included in this elite commonality they shared.

"_That's no fair!"_ Lucario groaned from behind me. He'd been so quiet I almost forgot he was there._ "She didn't even use Lucia in battle. She could have stayed over here with me."_

I smiled halfheartedly as Cynthia and Lucia crossed the broken field. She began digging through a small gothic billfold attached to her side.

"Hey don't worry about that." Kyle said hesitantly.

"No, you don't worry about it." Cynthia handed him 1000 pokedollars. "I'm loaded."

Kyle laughed. "Well, if that's the case."

"And here." She handed Byron now 5000. "This is for busting up your gym."

"Ah." He took the wad of money, stuffing it in his pocket. "Can't deny I don't need it."

"I'll help you." Roark offered. "I'll stay and help you get the place back in good shape."

"Hmm." Byron huffed. "I'd appreciate that son."

"Can I talk to you for a minute Roark? Outside?" Erika had a look of dread.

"Sure."

I watched sadly as they slowly made their way out. I took a good look around the gym. We had done a number on it. Byron walked away toward his room with the video phone. He might have to make a few calls in order to get things fixed back.

Roark walked back in, looking really glum. He hung his head as he approached us. "She broke up with me. I guess the whole long-distance thing was too much for her." He said quietly. "She's leaving to head back to Kanto soon. She asked if you'd go see her off Shonna."

"Yeah of course!" I said, trying to raise his spirits. "Will you come too?"

"Nah." He looked away. "I'll stay here for a while and help dad, but then I'm headed back to Oreburgh." He put on a fake smile. "Hey Shonna?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have any more pretty friends?"

I nearly fell over in shock. "Umm… well yes. I guess so."

"Can I have their number?" Though everyone was staring at him blankly, he looked dead serious.

"I… don't know if that's a good idea." I said, still someone stunned with his quick rebound.

"Ah c'mon." He put one hand behind his head and laughed. "It's worth a shot right?"

"Well, I know one." I pulled out the scribbled paper from my purse, and quickly added the number to a memo app on my Poketch, before handing him the paper. "Her name's Hope."

"Pretty name." He said, looking at the cursive as though he were in love already.

Kyle leaned over to whisper in my ear. "Won't Hope be mad you're giving out her number to guys?"

"Just one guy!" I whispered back. "Call it me playing matchmaker."

"I still say she'll be mad." He stood back up straight, giving a glance to Cynthia, who just shrugged.

"Thanks Shonna! You're a lifesaver!" Roark skipped back to the room with the videophone. "Hey dad! Quit hogging the phone! I've got a call to make!"

"Oh boy." I said with regret. "Maybe this was a mistake."

"Erika's waiting for you. She's probably down by the docks right now." Cynthia said from behind us. She walked forward to the gym doors. "Shonna, you'll be passing back through Celestic Town right? Grandma and I would love to see you."

"It's the long way around, but we could." Kyle pointed out.

"I'd like that." I leaned my head on his shoulder. "We could see the flowers again in Floraroma town."

"Let's take our time getting back then." He stretched one arm around my waist. "It's not like we're in any hurry. We only have one gym badge left."

"And there's still 4 months before the next league competition." Cynthia turned to our lucarios who were nuzzling against one another. "Hey Lucia. Come on. We need to go."

"_See ya."_ Lucia gave Lucario a quick lick on the cheek before being zapped into her pokeball.

"_Yeah. See ya."_ Lucario looked down as Cynthia walked out the doors.

_Lucario?_ I walked up to him, placing both hands on his shoulders._ Do you want to go with her? We can still catch up with Cynthia, and you can be with Lucia. I'll understand if you do._ I tried to keep my breaking heart from flooding my thoughts. I didn't want to influence him.

"_What? No way!"_ He looked shocked_. "She's just a girl. I want to stay with you. After all, you'll need my help if you plan on beating the league. Or at least your pompous boyfriend."_

I laughed, knowing he wasn't serious about the pompous part. _Thank you. _I gave him a quick hug, returning him to his pokeball.

"Well you two were quiet." Kyle said once he was gone. "Going to let me in on that little conversation?"

"Nope." I smiled. "Let's go Kyle. Lead the way."

"With pleasure." He held the heavy door open for me, only to find Cynthia on the other side, with her back to us.

"Please tell me we didn't miss it!" A familiar voice rang out. "We got a tip from someone that you Cynthia, and Kyle Gray were having a pokemon battle here today!" Jane appeared from behind Cynthia's black coat, and gasped when she saw us. Charlie waved with a goofy grin as she shoved the microphone in Kyle's face. "Kyle, is it true?"

"You just missed it Jane." He winked.

"No!" She screamed. "Filming a battle like that would have meant instant promotion for me!" She began tugging on her short brown hair in frustration. "Could you two just like, do it again?"

"No." Kyle laughed. "She wore my pokemon out."

"You mean you lost?" She looked flabbergasted at the thought.

"No, he beat me." Cynthia corrected. She turned back to Kyle. "Reporters. A pokemon master's mortal enemy."

Kyle nodded with a knowing smile. Again, a twinge of jealousy arose in me.

"Well that's just great. We missed one of the most important battles ever seen." Jane sulked. "Wait! We'll get to see it again!" She now shoved the microphone in Cynthia's face. "Cynthia! You will be competing in the league right? You'll reclaim your title?"

"No." Cynthia smiled, closing her eyes for a minute. "I figure I'll let them have a chance at it. I'll come back the time after that and try."

"Oh." Jane stepped back a bit. "How noble of you." She took a deep breath composing herself for the rest of the interview. "So, tell me, how was the battle with Kyle? What do you think of him?"

"What do I think?" Cynthia opened her eyes once more and smiled. "I think he's the worst jerk ever."

"What?" Jane was taken back by her harsh words. "Why would you say that?"

Cynthia pointed behind her. "Because he left me here all alone with you reporters!"

"What?" Jane turned, spying us running hand in hand away. "Hey! Get back here!" She cried. "How did they sneak away from me?"


	46. What Everyone Else Is Up To!

**x-x-x**

Episode 45: What Everyone Else Is Up To! 

As crazy as it sounds, me and Kyle spent a solid two months in Floraroma town. I would have been content on strolls through the flower-laden meadows, but Kyle insisted we spend most of the time training. I had to assume he was preparing for the league. He would battle with me almost everyday. Some I won, some I lost horribly. It all depended on which pokemon he used.

Every passerby that happened to walk past us, he would issue a challenge to. Most of the time he made me fight them though, which was exhausting. All the pokemon were definitely getting stronger, but they were also pretty drained. We rotated them out, spending time with one from our party per day, and taking Sundays off. Yes, that even included Palkia. We found a giant abandoned greenhouse up the road to hide it in. And though I knew it could easily bust out of it, it never did. It even got to the point where Palkia wouldn't knock me around during these training sessions, which mainly consisted of me watching it show off its super powerful moves. There were a couple times I thought the dilapidated building might crumble under the strain of the attacks.

Staraptor was now fully healed and ready to train as well. I spent the majority of my time with her teaching her the move Brave Bird. After lots of time and practice, she nailed it. It was so strong, she was able to knock down some of the town's trees with it. Much to the displeasure of the local florist ladies who glared at us every time we went to train.

I stared out the window one night of our room in the pokemon center, looking out at the starry sky.

"You okay?" Kyle yelled out from the bathroom. His voice was a bit gurgled from brushing his teeth.

"Yeah." I flopped down into the bottom bed. "I was just wondering what everyone else is doing right now."

I heard Kyle turn the water off and walk into the room. "What do you mean?"

"All our friends." I closed my eyes, getting comfortable. "Hope, Erika, Cynthia, Jane, Charlie." I paused. "I even wonder what Mars and Ricky are up to."

Kyle gave a foul face at the thought. "Probably plotting against us?"

"I guess it is a little silly." I glanced up at the window. Moonlight was coming in from the blinds, casting a shadow on the floor. "But haven't you ever wondered if maybe someone might be looking at the same moon you were, at the same time?"

"Only for you." He climbed up the ladder to his bunk. "I used to do that all the time, before I had you."

I smiled, closing my eyes. "I love you Kyle." I sighed longingly. "So more training tomorrow?"

"Nope." He yawned. "We're headed out tomorrow. We have two months now to get the last badge, and reach the league."

"Well, that's still plenty of time." I said, before drifting off to sleep.

**x-x-x**

Hope sat twirling her braids as she waited patiently by the phone. All the pokemon patients at the center were tucked up asleep for the night, and as soon as she got his call, she'd head to bed too. She nervously adjusted her pink nurse's dress. She always left it on in case a trainer came in with an emergency, but so far the night had been quiet.

She picked up a photo on her nightstand of the elderly Nurse Joy who had passed away. "You would be proud Joy. I'm making something of myself as the pokecenter nurse here, and I don't have to hide anymore." She sat the picture back down. "All thanks to Shonna. I have a lot to thank her for. Oh sure, I was mad at first about this whole fiasco with Roark. But now…" She remembered it vividly.

_She was sitting at the counter like usual during the day. It had been busier than normal and this was the first break she'd had. She sighed, checking the clipboard of her patients before the phone rang out. She pressed a button, watching as the screen turned on to show a young man with dark red hair and glasses. He wore a hard hat like a construction worker, and the whole thing caught her off guard._

"_Umm… hello?" She answered. "This is Nurse Hope with the Snowpoint City Pokemon Center. Can I help you?"_

"_Wow!" He leaned forward on the screen. "You really are pretty!"_

_She blushed. "Umm… who is this?"_

"_Oh! Sorry." He looked nervous. "I'm Roark. I'm the Oreburgh City gym leader."_

"_Oh. So what sort of business do you have to discuss? Do you need some pokemon transferred here or something?" Hope felt a slight hint of disappointment, but couldn't figure out why._

"_Well honestly I don't have any official business." Roark said shyly. _

_Hope watched as he pushed a finger against his glasses. She thought to herself how honestly he was kind of cute, if she were into the nerdy look. "Then what?"_

"_I'm friends with Shonna!" He yelled. "She gave me your number."_

"_What?" Hope blanched. "And why did she do that?"_

"_Hey don't freak out on me or anything. I just thought maybe we could talk. Get to know each other?"_

_Hope felt her face redden. "Look mister Roark, I don't know exactly what you're getting at here."_

"_Please don't hang up!" He pleaded. "You seem so nice. I've broke up with my last girlfriend recently, and my family doesn't really get along with me either. All I'm asking for is someone to talk to." He looked very pitiful when he said this._

"_Darn my gullible nature." She mumbled, but with a smile on her face. "Fine. Go on."_

"_Do you like fossils?" He asked excitedly._

"_I guess so. Like of pokemon?" She asked._

"_Yes!" He pulled his hard hat down. "I often go down to the mines and look for fossils. Sometimes I'll get lucky and find a pokemon specimen."_

"_Yeah but then you have to take it to a special laboratory before they can extract it."_

"_We have a museum here in Oreburgh that does it for me. That's how I got a lot of my pokemon." He smiled widely._

"_That's pretty neat." She said honestly. "Fossils always interested me as a kid, but I quickly pursued my real dream of working here in the pokemon center." She pulled a drawer open from her counter, and plucked the fist-sized stone from the corner. "I found this a long time ago. I keep it with me for good luck." She examined the heart shaped imprint on the stone before holding it up to the screen. "What do you think it is?"_

"_Oh!" Roark leaned forward in the screen. "It could be just a mud baked imprint of a heart. Some product of modern day. It's difficult to tell. I'd have to be there and see it to be sure, but it could also be a fossilized baby Luvdisc!"_

"_Really?" Hope giggled, holding the rock to her chest. "I've always kept it around. For help with my love life."_

_Roark smiled back at her through the screen. "Has it helped?"_

"_No." She blushed. "Not yet."_

"_Nurse Hope!" A boy rushed in with a magnemite collapsed in his arms. "Please help my pokemon!"_

"_Yes of course!" Hope stood up, and looked down at the phone. "Sorry, I need to go now."_

"_Sure." Roark beamed. "Can I call you later? Maybe tonight?"_

"_Umm…" Hope watched as Chansey wheeled out a stretcher. "Yes. I'd like that."_

"_Great. Talk to later Hope!" He clicked the off button making the screen go black._

Hope sat in her room, rolling her fossil around in her hand. He was late today. He always called at around ten. It was their routine now for two months. She let out a sigh. For the past month, they'd talked about dating.

"Ring Ring Ring!" The video phone blared out. Hope lit up as she reached for the phone. She clicked the button, seeing Shonna appear on the monitor.

"Oh." Hope put on a smile. "Hi Shonna."

"Wow. You're not very enthusiastic." She sneered. "I get it. You're waiting on a call from him huh?"

"Yes." She blushed. "How are things with you and Kyle?"

"Fine." She massaged one side of her neck, twisting it around. "Kyle's working me to the bone with all this training though."

"It'll make you stronger though." Hope said, crossing her legs. "How's Staraptor doing?"

"She's great! All better. I even taught her a new move the other day."

"That's really nice." Hope twiddled her thumbs. "Shonna umm… he could call any minute."

"Okay okay. But you have to actually talk to me next time I call, okay? Let me know what's going on with you?" She smiled before reaching for the end call button. "See ya Hope!"

The screen went black. Hope felt lonely as the time passed. "Maybe I should just go on to bed. Maybe something came up with his family and he couldn't call tonight."

Just then, the tiny bell from the center's door rang. Someone was in the lobby. "Okay. Guess I won't be getting any sleep after all." She loved her job, but sometimes she found it exhausting. She trudged through to the lobby, where he stood waiting.

"Hey there Hope." Roark smiled warmly at her.

"Roark?" She almost dropped the fossil in her hand in surprise.

"I thought it was high time I paid you a visit." He reached for her hand, taking the fossil from her. He looked it over for a while. "Yes. This is definitely the imprint of a newborn luvdisc."

Hope blushed as he placed it back in her hand. "I'm glad you're here. And I'm glad you didn't end up being a old man."

"What?" He laughed. "Why would you think that?"

"Never mind." She giggled.

**x-x-x**

Erika walked out of the Celadon Department Store with everything she'd need that night. Camera, film, scrapbook, and all the other accessories for it.

"Darn Shonna for getting me hooked on this." She said with a smile. "But at least next time I visit Sinnoh I'll be able to keep some of the memories with me and bring them back here."

She fumbled with her bags as she opened the door to her lush greenhouse gym.

"Miss Erika? Back from your outing?" Her assistant walked out from the bushes, with a trail of oddish at her heels.

"Yes. Thank you for watching the gym for me again Jolene."

"It's no trouble at all Miss Erika." Jolene picked up an oddish in her arms. "Did you get everything you needed?"

"I did." Erika dug out the camera, aiming it at the pair. The light flashed, surprising the oddish.

"Odd!" Oddish hopped out of Jolene's arms and took off running through the gym.

"Hehe!" Erika giggled. "They'll get used to it."

**x-x-x**

Jane and Charlie had tailed Cynthia back to Celestic Town and demanded an interview. Of which they received none of. Finally at the gates to Celestic Town, Cynthia whirled on her heels surprising them.

"Really, must you continue to pester me?" She asked in an angry tone.

"We just want one quick interview about the battle you had earlier." Jane said nervously.

"Can't you just go find him?" She griped.

"You're easier to find." Charlie pointed out.

"Fine." Cynthia sighed. "Then will you leave?"

"Certainly." Jane readied her microphone.

"Come with me then." Cynthia headed down the dark road, straight for the caverns, leading them into the dim lit tunnel.

Cave paintings adorned the walls, sending chills up Jane's spine. "Why'd we have to come in this creepy place?"

"This creepy place is an important part of my life. I practically grew up here, and I've dedicated my time when not being a league champion, to discovering what all these inscriptions and paintings mean." Cynthia huffed as she stood in front of the painting of Giratina. She turned back to them to see Charlie setting up some lights on the camera. "You'll ruin the mood."

"Uh, sorry." Charlie flicked on the bright light. "No one will be able to see you by torch light."

Jane readied herself. "So Cynthia, please tell us about your recent battle."

"Kyle beat me. He won." She said in a matter of fact way.

"Yes I know that, but was I was hoping for something a bit more in depth." Jane held the microphone out. "Would you say his battle skills are at the same level as your own?"

"I don't know." Cynthia looked away, toward the other cave paintings. "His skills are certainly superb. He's a well-rounded trainer, even with his disadvantage of more fire types than any other. Most trainers have to struggle to make a varied party. He has somehow found a way to get around that. But honestly, it's not him that worries me."

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked from behind his camera.

"Charlie!" Jane whispered. "That's my line!"

Cynthia shifted weight on her legs. "Shonna could be the real underdog in the league this year."

"Shonna?" Jane laughed. "Why on earth would you worry about her? She's never even won a single league championship. Let alone as many as you and Kyle have came out on top for!"

Cynthia turned to the painting behind her looking contemplative. "You know, you act like me and Kyle are some sort of godsend." She touched the picture of Giratina with two fingers, swirling it around the violet painted vortex that encircled it. "Even a lowly magikarp could beat the stuff of legends. With enough time and proper training, any pokemon could become just as powerful as any other." She turned back to Jane. "It is the same with people as well."

"Deep words." Charlie said under his breath.

"Indeed." Cynthia thought to herself. "So instead of wasting your time with me and Kyle, you should keep an eye on her."

"I think you're only trying to get us out of your hair." Jane said, placing a hand on her hip. "I can take a hint. Shut it off Charlie." Jane huffed out of the cave, with her cameraman following close behind.

"What now Jane?" He turned the camera off.

"I say we wait until the league." Jane looked up to the dark sky. "We'll see if she even stands a chance."

**x-x-x**

Mars watched impatiently from the door in the back, to the front of the ship. Ricky had left it wide open, but she refused to step inside. He'd lightened up a lot. He even let her help out in the last plan by distracting Kyle.

The black dress he'd given her was even too revealing for her taste, but she wore it regardless. He had told her if she were going to be his accomplice, she'd have to look the part.

She looked down to the master ball that was in her right hand. It was the last thing she had of Cyrus's, but she knew she'd have to give it up soon.

"The target is in range." The computer blared out.

"Excellent." Ricky leaned back in his chair.

"Why do you want this pokemon anyway?" Mars asked quietly. "Don't you have enough strong pokemon already?"

"It's not enough." Ricky's eyes narrowed to slits. "Besides that, I feel a connection to this pokemon. It's searching for something, much like myself. It lives for revenge."

"Why is it that you hate Kyle so much Ricky?" Mars leaned against the doorway. "I did a little research on you, but I only know so much."

"He took away the only family I knew." His voice stiffened, before he quickly turned his chair to face her. "So by what right does he have to start a new one? How is that fair?"

"You mean Shonna." It was a statement, not a question. "That's why you want to kill her."

"It would be worse then death to him." Ricky grinned. "It would make him finally know how I felt when I found out he'd killed my father."

"It was an accident though, right?" Mars gulped. "The cave in?"

Ricky glared at her. "And you Mars? Do you believe the death of the one you cared about was an accident?"

Mars could feel herself fume at the thought of that void closing up with Cyrus still in it. "No. It wasn't an accident. They left the only father I knew to die as well."

"Then you see why I must do this." He stood up, approaching her. "Now hand over the master ball."

Mars held it to her chest, backing up. "I don't want to give it up."

"Mars." He pulled back his coat, revealing the switchblade at his side. "I don't want to hurt you. Just be a good girl and give me the ball."

Mars sighed, holding it out. Ricky snatched it up without a second thought. He turned back to the large window at the front room.

"Target is in sight." The computer blared. "Cryogen tank is ready. All systems are prepared for capture."

"Very good." Ricky rolled the master ball in his hand. "Now you'll be mine."


	47. The Vespiquen Scene!

**A/N: Another chapter told through the voices of the pokemon. Enjoy!**

**x-x-x**

Episode 46: The Vespiquen Scene!

Arcanine yawned as the happy couple sat comfortably on his back. He'd been trotting along toward Eterna City, where Kyle planned to bike through Mt. Coronet. Just as they were about to enter the forest, Kyle pulled on his mane gently.

"Stop here boy." He said looking toward the forest. "We'll camp out here for a while."

"Arf!" Arcanine barked happily. Shonna slid off his back just before Kyle did.

"Hey!" She bounced around a bit. "Can we let out the other pokemon?"

"Of course!" Kyle let out his party, which spread out over the meadow. "I'll work on fixing some lunch."

"Sounds good!" She gave him a peck on the cheek before releasing her pokemon, with the exception of Palkia.

Arcanine watched as all the pokemon surrounded him. Kyle had switched his pokemon back to his normal Sinnoh party, and the newest members, Munchlax and Jolteon were happily playing together around a bunch of flowers.

While their trainers were brooding over a pot of stew, Arcanine walked around to check on all the pokemon. Absol walked by his side.

"Hi Arcanine!" She smiled at him. "What are you up to?"

"Hi Absol. Just making rounds, checking on everyone."

"You take care of everyone here don't you?" She barked. "Don't you ever get tired of it?"

"No." He looked toward Staraptor who was stretching her wings. "I like helping everyone. Hey Staraptor! How's the wing?"

"Doesn't hurt a bit today!" Staraptor cooed.

"Well you'd better be careful." Arcanine smiled, showing his fangs. "If you keep busting it up you'll get early arthritis!"

"Don't tell me that!" She jumped up, floating over to land on Charizard, who was fast asleep. Scizor sat beside him quietly in a meditative pose. "I'm still young. Younger than you anyway."

"You've got me there." He chuckled, walking over to Luxray, Lucario and Rapidash. Lucario ran right up to him.

"Hey there." Lucario said, joining his other side. "How's it going Arcanine?"

"Fine." He smiled at his friend. "I heard you found a you a girlfriend."

"I guess so." He grinned, placing a paw to his chin. "She seems to like me pretty good."

"Ah, but then again you are a very attractive lucario right?" He threw in extra sarcasm.

"Yep!" He joked as well. "The ladies love me."

"Hardly." Absol mumbled, giving him an angry stare. Arcanine knew she wasn't really mad though. She just always looked like that.

"Really?" Lucario leaned over to her. "Have you seen a more handsome pokemon then?"

"As a matter of fact yes!" Absol growled out. They both looked at her questionably, making a faint blush streak across her face. "But I'm not telling!"

"Right…" Lucario laughed. "I was just kidding anyway Absol. Don't get so worked up over it."

She looked away, even more embarrassed.

"Anyway…" Arcanine said, changing the subject. "I take it all's well with Shonna's pokemon?"

"Yes." Lucario turned, looking around at the pokemon. "Palkia is thank goodness, not here. Staraptor's napping with Scizor and Charizard. Rapidash and Luxray are over there having a little race around the field. Looks like Jolteon's making a pitiful attempt to beat them." He looked around the field. "Where's Torterra and Munchlax?"

"Over there." Absol pointed her sharp head toward Eterna Forest. "Looks like they're fighting over food again."

"Arf…" Arcanine groaned. "Those two." Together, Lucario, Absol and himself approached them. They were huddled over a bush full of oran berries, shoving and pushing at each other.

"I want them! I want them all!" Munchlax pushed and shoved, unknowingly giving Torterra a couple good Slam attacks.

"Back off kid! I saw them first!" Torterra groaned, shoving right back.

"But I'm hungry!" Munchlax whined.

"Really you two." Arcanine growled. "You're going to spoil your dinner."

"It's not my fault the pipsqueak won't share!" Torterra roared.

"Don't forget, you used to be just as small once upon a time." Lucario said, crossing his spiked arms.

"Don't remind me of that." Torterra groaned.

"Really boys." Absol stepped forward, twisting her tail as she walked. "There's a simple solution for this mess."

"Auntie Sol!" Munchlax ran up to hug her.

"Munchlax, come on." Absol shook him off. "Listen to me okay? You're going to eat all the oran berries at the bottom of the bush, and Torterra will take the top. You can't reach those anyway Munchlax."

Munchlax looked back at the bush and turned to run for it. "Okay auntie!"

Absol sighed as the pair finally agreed to her demands.

"Not bad." Arcanine said smiling. "You're really good with the kid. I can see why he's so attached to you."

Absol turned away, looking a bit frazzled. "It was nothing, really."

Suddenly all three of their ears perked. A buzzing flooded Arcanine's ears. It sounded close, and it was approaching them fast.

A swarm of combee flew from the forest. Their honeycomb patterns interlocked, casting a dark shadow over the entire field. There must have been hundreds of them. They flew erratically, as if they were confused.

"Oh no." Lucario held a paw over his face.

"What is it?" Absol asked.

"Bee pokemon." He pointed to his trainer Shonna, who turned as pale as a sheet.

"Ah! Agh! Aieeeeeeeeeeee!" She screamed so loud it echoed through the entire field, making the combee scatter a bit in shock. But they quickly returned.

The combee buzzed out at them repeating four words over and over. "Please help our queen! Please help our queen!"

Kyle ran up to Shonna, wrapping his arms around her. Arcanine couldn't tell if it was an attempt to comfort her, or shield her. He remembered now that same look of fear in her eyes every time they saw a beedrill in Kanto. She was quivering in his arms, and looked like she might faint.

"Arcanine! Do something!" Kyle commanded. "Blast them with a Flamethrower!"

"Arr…" Arcanine whimpered to his master. "I can't! They haven't done anything wrong, and they need our help!"

Kyle gave a look that said he understood, but he looked down at Shonna now, unsure of what to do about it.

Charizard raised up angrily from his slumber, making Staraptor and Scizor move away. "I'll do it!" He reared back his head as hot flames formed in his throat. The combee floated helplessly above him.

"No! Don't!" Arcanine leaped in front of him, forcing a flamethrower of his own to fight it back. Arcanine knew his was stronger, and watched confidently as he pushed all the flames back to Charizard. Charizard eventually gave up the power struggle and huffed embers at him.

"Whatever. It's on your head though if the girl has a panic attack." He laid his head back down to go back to sleep.

"Please help our queen! Please help our queen!" The combee buzzed around Shonna, getting even closer.

"Aiiiiieeeeee! No!" She clung to Kyle. "Please don't let them hurt me Kyle!"

Kyle looked back up to Arcanine, staring back at him. "Arcanine I don't care what you do, just get them out of here!"

"You've got to do something." Lucario held his head, indicating he was feeling some of her fear. "She's a mess!"

"Arrrrrrrrrr… Rarrrrrrrrr!" Arcanine let out a massive roar that shook the nearby trees. Everyone, even his close friends, reeled back a bit in fright.

"Beeeeeee!" The swarm of combee buzzed away, leaving only three behind.

"These guys are persistent." Absol muttered.

"Please help our queen! Please help our queen!" The three repeated.

"Okay Okay!" Lucario barked. "We'll help you! Just stay away from my trainer okay?" He pointed to Shonna, who was shaking violently. "She doesn't like you guys."

"Oh, really?" One of the combee floated forward. "Why didn't you say so?"

"Uh…" Arcanine groaned. "So something's wrong with your queen?"

"Yes!" The more talkative combee floated toward him now. "A monster came into the forest and attacked her! We tried to defend her, but it was just too strong!"

"A monster?" Lucario looked skeptical.

"It's an awful monster! It's nearly killed her!" As Combee said this, the other two combee behind him shook in fear.

"If that's the case, we'll need some medicine." Lucario rushed over to Shonna's purse and took out a full restore. Kyle watched him questionably but made no move to stop him either. Lucario ran back to the others. "This should help."

"Alright then." Arcanine turned to the other pokemon. "We're going into the forest to try and help out the Combee. Anyone else want to come?"

Munchlax and Torterra continued to eat. Luxray and Rapidash only looked away from their race for a moment. And Staraptor and Charizard looked too sleepy to be bothered with it.

"I'll go." Scizor spoke up, walking to the group.

"That's not like you." Arcanine stared at him. "You usually like to keep to yourself."

"True." Scizor mumbled, turning to the combee. "But this monster of yours intrigues me."

"I wanna come!" A tiny, girly voice said from beneath Arcanine's feet. "I wanna see the monster too!"

"Jolteon?" Arcanine looked down between his legs to see the baby electric type running around happily. "I don't know. You're still young."

"That doesn't matter!" She whined. " I wanna go too!"

"Kid. Get back over there and play with Munchlax or something." Scizor said, pulling her out from under Arcanine with his sturdy claws. "You'll just get in our way!"

"But Munchlax won't play anymore! He just wants to eat!" She squealed. "And I want to come with you guys!"

"If she wants to go, let her go." Absol said angrily. "It's not that big of a deal Scizor."

"Yeah." Arcanine nodded. "I agree. I think it's fine."

Lucario brushed back one of his aura sensors. "We can look out for her."

"You're all nuts." Scizor leaned down to Jolteon's level. "You're just a little thing. You can't help us out. Has Kyle even bothered to train you any?"

"Hey." Lucario glared. "Stop giving her a hard time."

"Really Scizor." Arcanine growled. "That's uncalled for."

"You big bully!" Jolteon stared him down, getting in a defensive position. "I'm not too little! And he did train me!" She began puffing out in anger. The spikes on her back stood on end. "I hate you! You're so mean!"

"Get down!" Arcanine yelled as he pounced Lucario and Absol. Scizor was not so lucky, and took the Pin Missile attack head on.

"Ow!" He shook off the sharp needles embedded in his face. "Geez! What'd you do that for?" He screamed at Jolteon, and was about to smack her with his giant claws, when Arcanine stepped forward.

"Back off." He stared Scizor down, and watched as his angry eyes turned back to normal. "By the way Scizor, you missed one." Arcanine pointed to a spike sticking out of the back of his abdomen.

"Hehe! It's on his butt!" Jolteon giggled insanely.

"What the…" Scizor pulled the pin out and tossed it down. "Now how on earth did she manage that?"

"I'm good!" Jolteon bounced happily around Arcanine.

"That was pretty good Jolteon!" Lucario smiled, holding up his paw in a high-five motion. Jolteon smacked her paw against his.

"Now." Absol sounded annoyed. "Can we get going?"

"Please save our queen!" The combee called.

"We get it. We get it." Lucario snapped. "We'll save your queen."

Arcanine chuckled at the group as they all headed deep into the forest.

**x-x-x**

The combee silently led the way into Eterna forest. Everyone looked relieved that they had finally quit bantering, but Arcanine had to assume that they were just too scared of this so-call monster to speak. He wondered how close they were to the situation. Whatever it was, he was sure he could take it on. He glanced over to Lucario, who nodded at him.

"This forest sure is creepy!" Jolteon broke the silence. "It's dark!"

"Shut up kid." Scizor said harshly. "You'll wake up the monster!"

"I'm not afraid of no monster!" She shot him a look.

"It's dark because of all the trees." Absol pointed out, redirecting their aggression. "It's still daylight, but all the trees make it seem like night. It gets worse as we get deeper in the forest."

"Oh! Cool!" Jolteon bounced happily by Absol's side now.

"We're getting closer." Lucario said. "I can sense the aura of many combee just ahead."

"Please save our queen…" The combee whispered.

"We know that already!" Scizor screamed. "Can't you guys say anything else?"

"Sorry!" The lead combee of the bunch turned in the air to face them. "They're just all really scared. Without our queen, us combee are a real mess."

"It's okay." Arcanine glared at Scizor. "We understand."

"Oh wow!" Jolteon's eyes lit up at all the bright yellow combee that suddenly surrounded them. They flew in an ordered fashion, some carrying gobs of pollen from Floraroma Town, some carrying honey to and from the center of the forest. They floated around in lines, looking happy to do their work.

"They're still working? Even though their precious queen is in trouble?" Scizor said arrogantly.

"It's all we know!" The combee leading them turned to him angrily. "We're not born fighters like you pokemon. We don't know anything else but our jobs. Our queen normally takes care of anyone who dares try to enter our territory, but she couldn't defeat this monster."

"I see." Arcanine looked around in awe at their factory like organization. Finally, his eyes came to rest on a new pokemon, who laid lifelessly in a grove at the forest's central point. "Is that the queen?"

"Yes." The three combee joined a few others surrounding her protectively. "Queen Vespiquen! We have brought some strong pokemon to fight off the monster!"

"Uhh…" The Vespiquen groaned as she sat up slowly. "Thank you for following my request combee. You may return to your duties now."

"Yes your majesty!" All the combee surrounding the queen now quickly scattered, returning to their jobs.

"I greatly appreciate your coming, strong ones." She struggled to sit up to meet their gazes.

"Your majesty!" Jolteon bowed before her cutely. "We have come to get rid of the awful monster!" She wagged her spiky butt in happiness. "We'll beat him up!"

"The bowing is not necessary child. And you may just call me Vespiquen." Vespiquen smiled at her, stroking her spiked fur. "But I could certainly use the help." She looked away in pain, and suddenly collapsed on her makeshift bed of leaves.

"Hang on!" Lucario gripped onto the spray bottle of full restore. "This should make you feel better." He sprayed the claw shaped wounds that littered Vespiquen's wrecked body. "It's a potion our trainers use a lot on us. It stings a little, but you should be completely restored in moments."

"You're too kind." She winced from the pain as he continued to spray her down.

"It's no trouble at all." Arcanine said, stepping forward. "Vespiquen, can you tell us what's been going on here?"

She sat up again, gaining some color to her face, and some strength to her body. "There is a terrible pokemon that's plagued us for some time now. She has been coming to our hive regularly to steal some of our famous enchanted honey."

"So this is the act of a pokemon. Not a monster." Absol spoke up.

"Don't get me wrong." Vespiquen now floated into a standing position. "This pokemon is in every way a monster. She has tons of brute power, and she has been deemed the name 'monster' by my precious children the combee."

"So it's a female?" Scizor asked.

"Yes. And like me is very protective of her…" Vespiquen was cut off by the sound of her combee screaming. "She has already returned? So soon?"

"Help!" The combee began to frantically swarm around everyone. "The monster is back! Help us!"

Everyone was in a frenzy. Vespiquen hid weakly behind Arcanine as the bees parted ways, allowing the figure to emerge. Stepping out of the shadows, the silhouette walked toward them. It opened its mouth, showing fangs, stretching its arms out.

"Teddi… Ursa!" The tiny teddy bear pokemon growled, stretching out its tiny claws to the group.

"That's it?" Absol stepped forward, surprising the little bear. "This little cutie is the monster?"

"This pipsqueak?" Scizor laughed, taking one of his claws and flicking Teddiursa in the nose. "What a joke!"

"Teddi!" Teddiursa fell back in shock. Tears formed in his eyes now. "Ursaaaaa!" He wailed, making everyone's ears hurt.

"Scizor, I'm really getting irritated with you picking on little kids." Arcanine barked at him. "What's your deal?"

"Well can you blame me? I thought there was going to be some big show here, all we find is some little bear is bothering the beehive!" Scizor stood defensively, but nearly fell on his slender feet when a sudden shaking disturbed the ground. It felt like stomps.

"Pardon." Vespiquen said, floating up a bit. "But that's not the monster."

"Ursaaaaa…." A giant Ursaring emerged from the shadows, scooping up the sobbing teddiursa. She stood as tall as Arcanine. "Who dared to hurt my baby?" She screamed.

"That is." Vespiquen said quietly.

"Uh… umm…" Scizor stood stricken in fear.

"Well, go get her." Absol pushed Scizor forward with her sharp head. "You wanted to face the monster, so go do it."

"But I…" Scizor shook off his obvious fear, before standing strong. "Okay big momma, bring it on!"

"Rarrrrrrrr!" Ursaring roared, making all the combee in the area fly far away. It was just them now.

"Teddi?" Two more Teddiursa appeared behind Ursaring.

Arcanine shook his head. "Let's not jump into a fight. We need to get to the root of the problem here. Besides, we don't want to hurt the kids."

"You already have! You bunch of sissies." Ursaring growled, cradling her young.

"I'm not a sissy." Scizor groaned.

"No real man would pick on children!" Ursaring glared.

Scizor didn't reply to that.

"This is solving nothing." Lucario said, holding a paw to his head. "Somebody please explain why there's so much angst here?"

"It's simple!" Vespiquen screamed out. "That pokemon is insistent on stealing the precious honey my children work so hard to make."

Ursaring was boiling with anger. "And you don't seem to understand your enchanted honey is the only thing my children will eat!"

"It's not my fault they're so picky and spoiled!" Vespiquen yelled furiously.

"What did you say?" Ursaring put her baby down and rushed forward after her.

Arcanine didn't do anything except step between them. Ursaring slammed into him hard. The force of the slam knocked a few embers from his throat. He tossed his head against her, knocking her back some. He could see her rage building.

"Be careful if you use fire attacks." Vespiquen whispered. "We don't want to burn the forest down."

"Then I'll try to refrain from it." He whispered back.

"Ursaaa!" Ursaring thrashed toward him again. Arcanine used Extremespeed to knock her back.

"You know," He said, pushing his head against hers. "We don't have to fight."

"You infuriate me!" Ursaring shoved him away with her arm.

"Have it your way!" Lucario leaped to his side. "But you'll have a lot of us to contend with."

"I'll take you all on!" Ursaring suddenly glowed a dark orange color, almost red.

"Be careful guys." Absol said quietly. "Her rage is building."

Ursaring charged at the group. Scizor grabbed the weak Vespiquen and threw her aside. Absol grabbed Jolteon by the scruff of the neck running away with her, and Arcanine dodged quickly. He turned back to see Lucario standing in line for her attack.

"Lucario! Look out!" He yelled out to him, but it was too late. He cringed as he watched his friend, who wasn't quite fast enough and went flying into the air.

"Got you!" Vespiquen fluttered up, catching his skinny body. She slowly lowered him down.

"Thanks! I wasn't quite fast enough." Lucario said smiling.

Arcanine laughed. "Hey Lucario! Maybe I could teach you Extremespeed sometime!" He took a step forward. "You could trade it in for that Force Palm attack."

"Yeah!" Lucario rushed to his side. "It is a bit useless now that I have this." He leaned back, forming aura in his paws as Ursaring charged at them once more. This time when everyone dodged, Lucario let out an aura sphere at her and flipped over her back.

Ursaring winced as she came to a stop. "How rude!" She screamed. "Having small talk during our battle!"

"Everyone! Surround her!" Arcanine cried. The group split up, taking positions all around Ursaring. She looked around angrily, unsure of who to attack.

"Arcanine!" Absol yelled out. "Let's use a combination attack! Use Flamethrower."

Arcanine glanced nervously to the trees around him. Some combee hid in their branches, shaking in fear. "I don't think I should…"

Suddenly, Absol hopped onto his back. She leaned in to whisper beside his ear. "Trust me okay?"

"Alright." He held his head back, aiming for Ursaring. He hit her hard, but when he saw some of the embers start to flick in the wind toward the forest, he held back.

"I've got it under control Arcanine!" Absol yelled as she swung her head around, whipping up a razor wind. "Scizor! Vespiquen! Feel free to help me out here!"

Scizor and Vespiquen floated up then, adding to the wind. Together, they kept the flamethrower centered on Ursaring.

"Ursa!" Ursaring somehow stood strong, even in all the flames. Arcanine eventually quit when he thought she'd had enough. The big bear dropped to one knee, breathing hard.

"Now really." Absol hopped down, extinguishing the smoldering grass with her wind. "Let's not fight anymore. We can work this out."

Arcanine looked around at the group, making sure everyone was present. "Absol, where's Jolteon?"

"What?" Absol looked around frantically. "She was right here a second ago."

Arcanine grit his teeth, turning to Lucario.

"Right!" Lucario closed his eyes, lifting the aura sensors on his head gently. He was finding her aura. When he opened his eyes again, he turned to a tree behind him.

"Teddi!" A teddiursa had climbed to the top of the tree and was scraping honey from one of the combee's hives. Jolteon was sneaking up behind it.

"Look guys!" She said. "I found a monster!"

"Teddi!" The teddiursa was surprised by her, and turned around to smack her.

"Ouch! What'd you do that for! That's not nice!" She began puffing up in anger.

"No don't!" Everyone yelled, but to no avail. The pins from her body spiked out in all different directions. Several of them got stuck on Teddiursa's nose.

"Teddiiiiiii!" Teddiursa screeched in pain.

"My baby!" Ursaring boiled in anger again. She charged for the tree.

Everyone ran to try and stop her, but this wild Ursaring was incredibly fast. She struck the tree knocking both baby pokemon to the ground, and swung back her arm to Jolteon. Jolteon had a look of terror in her eyes as the angry beast towered above her.

Arcanine kicked in Extremespeed. He knew he could get to her in time, but just barely.

"This is crazy! Will we never stop fighting this thing?" Absol yelled from behind them. "I'm sick of it!" She then did something very strange and raised her head to bay to the forest. Her voice sounded like a dark, evil song. And mid-stride, Arcanine had to pull to a stop. His whole body instantly felt weak. He watched wearily as Ursaring fell backwards, passed out. They had won. But now, he could see Vespiquen faint before him as well. Then Lucario, then Scizor, then the baby pokemon as well. Combee began dropping out of the trees like flies, and the world started turning black around him.

In the middle of his tunnel vision, Absol ran up to him. "Oh no. I'm so sorry Arcanine." She barked out apologetically. He blacked out soon after that.

**x-x-x**

Arcanine opened his eyes slowly. It was still dark in the forest, so he had no idea what time it was. All of the pokemon were laying in heaps around him, motionless. All with the exception of Absol that is, who sat nearby looking distressed.

"What a terrible curse this is." She said softly. "To be blessed with a song that no one can hear without passing out."

"Absol?" Arcanine rose slowly, still feeling weakened.

"Arcanine!" She rushed over to him. "You were the last to go down, and the first to rise."

"What did you do to everyone?" His legs were shaky, but he could feel himself starting to regain strength.

"Whenever we get breaks out of our pokeballs," She sat down beside him, slowly wagging her tail. "I like to go out and try out this new song that's come to me recently. It makes me feel better to sing it, relieves some stress. But then I started to notice, that if any other pokemon were around when I would sing it, they would instantly faint."

"Wow." Arcanine didn't really know what to say to that. "That's… pretty bad."

"That sucks." Lucario said, holding his head as he stood.

"It obviously does its job." She groaned. "It worked on all of you, and all the surrounding combee."

Some of the other pokemon around them were beginning to stir. Lucario turned back to Absol. "Well, that's definitely worth mentioning to Kyle. If you want I could convey the message through Shonna when we get back. He'd probably be interested to know that."

"Thanks." She said sadly.

"Momma!" Some of the baby teddiursa began shaking their mother's body. She was barely moving. "Momma!" They cried out for her.

"Is she dead?" Jolteon asked, sitting up.

"No child. She's not dead." Vespiquen still looked weakened, and was leaning against Scizor for support. She looked to Lucario. "Do you have anymore of that magical liquid you used on me?"

Lucario ran over to the bottle he'd dropped earlier. "It's not a lot, but it might help."

"We roughed her up pretty good." Scizor said smugly.

Lucario walked cautiously over to her. The little Teddiursa stared up at him with tears in their eyes as he sprayed some of the full restore on her.

"Urrrrrr…" She groaned.

Vespiquen slowly floated over to her. "Ursaring, look at this situation. Enough of us have got hurt because of this petty argument of ours. I propose we look into another option. One without violence."

Ursaring sat up slowly. Her children flopped on her lap. "Momma! We're hungry!"

"I have to have the honey." Ursaring brushed some fur back on her young. "They need it."

"I understand." Vespiquen said. She moved her sharp jaws with every syllable. "But you must also understand that I must protect my children as well, and make sure they have plenty."

Absol spoke up. "Really, is sharing so hard to do anymore?"

"I like to share!" Jolteon said with energy.

"Let us draw up a treaty." Vespiquen said. "I shall allow you to come in and take a ration of our enchanted honey for each of your cubs."

"And in return?" Ursaring glared at her.

"All I ask is for your protection of this grove. If you help fend off intruders with me, then we stand a better chance of protecting the honey that is precious to all of us." Vespiquen smiled.

"Very well." Ursaring stood, making her babies roll off her. "It's a deal." She held out her massive paw, which Vespiquen took in her slender hand and shook.

"Teddi…" The teddiursa groaned from behind her. "We want honey momma!"

Vespiquen chuckled as she flew up to a hive, tearing a large chunk of the comb off. "Will this suffice for your family?"

"It will." Ursaring took the piece of honeycomb and turned. "Come along children! We'll eat this when we get back to the den."

"Yay!" The three baby teddiursa followed obediently behind her.

Some of the combee were beginning to wake up and return to their jobs. It looked like everything was going to be fine now. Arcanine smiled, feeling a cool breeze blow through his fur. Everyone was quiet for a while.

"Graaaa…" A noise echoed through the forest.

"What on earth?" Scisor looked around. "Another monster?"

"No…" Jolteon's stomach growled. "That was me."

Lucario laughed. "We should probably head back to our trainers now."

"Please wait." Vespiquen flew down with another large chunk of comb dripping in honey. "If I may, I'd love to bring some of this as a gift of appreciation to your trainers. They have done an excellent job making you all so strong, and I know today could have turned out very differently, were you not here." She watched happily as her combee worked to rebuild the hive above her. "With Ursaring now protecting the forest as well, I believe I can excuse myself for a short trip to wherever you're camping."

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Arcanine hung his head.

"You see," Lucario stepped toward her. "My trainer is very afraid of your kind. Bee pokemon that is."

"I see." Vespiquen frowned. "That is a pity."

"But," Lucario took a deep breath. "It's a really serious phobia. I'm worried about her honestly. What will she do if she has to fight a beedrill or something in battle?" He paused. "Come with us. If things go bad you'll have to leave though."

"I understand." Vespiquen gripped onto her honey. "Let us be off then."


	48. Sharing and Scaring!

**A/N: Short chapter. I'm starting a new job tomorrow, so updates might be a little slow for a while.**

**x-x-x**

Episode 47: Sharing and Scaring!

I watched as Kyle tossed another piece of wood into the fire. The pot he had over it had been simmering for a while. The sun was setting, and besides Charizard, all the other pokemon had eaten and were recalled back to their pokeballs. All except the group that had went into the forest.

I shuddered. "What if something happened? What if those awful combee got them? Shouldn't we go out and check?"

"They're fine." Kyle kept saying. "And Shonna, I don't think the combee meant us any harm."

"What do you mean?" I screamed. "They swarmed us out of nowhere!"

"If you say so." He said, tossing one last piece on. "Charizard! A little more heat please."

"Rarr." Charizard huffed in his sleep as he stuck his tail under the pot. The firewood was caught ablaze in seconds.

"Thanks." Kyle wiped the sweat from his forehead. "They'll be back soon." He turned toward the forest. "Actually, there they come now."

"Really?" I stood up, searching the horizon for Lucario.

"_Now don't freak out before we even get there."_ I heard his voice say in my head.

"_Lucario!"_ I smiled as the group came into view. _"I was so worried about y-"_ A flash of yellow caught my attention. It was much too big to be Jolteon. When I saw the black stripes, I could feel myself start to get dizzy_. "Lucario… there's a… there's a…"_

"_A bee."_ He finished my sentence. _"It's a Vespiquen, and she only wants to thank you. She has a gift, and I've talked to her, Mom. She means you no harm."_

"She lies! She's a bee like the rest of them!" I screamed this part aloud, making Kyle look at me strangely. "Don't let her get near me! Please Lucario!"

The group of pokemon crept closer. I could feel my body start shaking at the sight of the giant bee that floated closer. It was almost as tall as me. I backed up, stopping only when I hit Kyle's sturdy body. He placed his hands gently on my arms. "I know Arcanine wouldn't have brought back this pokemon if she had any bad intentions." He leaned in. "Would it make you feel better if I went with you?"

"_I'm only doing this for your own good." _Lucario said quietly. The pokemon now stood only a few feet away. The Vespiquen wriggled her fearsome jaws at me.

"Look." Kyle pointed to the honeycomb in her hands. "A peace offering. It would be rude to not accept." He nudged me forward a bit.

I tried not to look at the awful striped menace before me. "You've all lost your minds! You really expect me to take something from it?" I turned away, feeling convulsion run through my limbs.

"I know you can do it." Kyle seemed confident in it. Lucario nodded, encouraging me a bit.

I took a step forward, still not looking at her. I looked down instead, which turned out to be a big mistake. I could see tiny, slimy grubs moving about under her skirt-shaped abdomen. "Ew gross!" I screamed, running back to Kyle's arms. When no one said anything, I looked back to Vespiquen, who remained silent. I shook a bit, walking up to her. It took everything I had to get so close. I was now only a foot or two away. I glanced back to Kyle now, who like promised, was right behind me. I reached out with shaking hands to take the dripping honeycomb. I pulled it back, looking up into her bright red bug eyes. They held no ferocity. I'd always been too scared to actually look into a bee pokemon's eyes, but I realized now that if I had, I probably would have seen the good aura behind it. Well, maybe not in all of them, but I was starting to regret all the times I had said bad things about Kyle's Beedrill.

"Bzzz…" She buzzed happily, making her giant jaws pinch. I cringed.

Kyle took the honey from me and looked up to the floating bee. "Thank you." He took a taste of it. "Wow. It's really good. I have some awesome recipes I've been dying to try out that I could use this in."

His words intrigued me. I still had some of the sticky stuff on my fingers, so I took a lick. It tasted better than any honey you could buy at the store. It was really sweet, but not too much. "Oh wow! It really is good!"

"Bzz!" Vespiquen nodded before flying off into the forest.

"_That went better than I thought."_ Lucario looked stunned.

_Don't expect it to always be like that._ I replied to him, before licking my fingers again. "This stuff's tasty! I want some! I could make some really good poffins with it!"

Kyle smiled as he squeezed the honey into four jars. He handed me two. "We can share."

I capped them off and stuffed them to the bottom of my purse.

"Arf!" Arcanine pounced Kyle like an overgrown puppy.

"Whoa!" Kyle fell under his weight. "Hey boy! Did you all have fun?"

"Arf! Ar!" Arcanine wagged his fluffy tail.

Jolteon followed his lead and leaped atop them both. Scizor and Lucario just stood there smiling. The only one who didn't look happy, was Absol. She sat a few feet away, looking especially downhearted.

"_There's a reason for that." _Lucario walked closer to me.

"Hey everyone!" Kyle slipped out from under Arcanine. "We saved some stew for you. It's still hot!"

All the pokemon cheered hungrily. Jolteon bounced up and down, waiting for her bowl to fill. "Jolt! Jolt!"

Kyle walked around, pouring the warm stew. They all lapped it up happily, except again, Absol.

"_What's wrong with her?"_ I asked silently.

"_She says she has a song she likes to sing, but when she has done so around pokemon, it causes them to faint shortly after." _Lucario had a hard edge to his voice. _"And it works too. I should know."_

"Oh." I looked back to Kyle who was handing a bowl to Lucario. "Lucario says your Absol knows a song that makes pokemon faint."

"Really?" He looked happy about it. "That sounds like the move Perish Song!"

"Perish Song?" I didn't know much about that attack.

"Yes!" Kyle leaned down to Absol's level as she lapped up the broth in her bowl. "Girl, if you've really learned that move, that's awesome!"

"Sol?" She looked up at him skeptically.

"It's not a bad thing." He stroked her fur gently. "It will be an invaluable attack. It's true that it very quickly makes pokemon faint."

"Sol…" She looked down at her reflection in the soup.

"But I know you probably want to be able to share it with someone." Kyle pet behind the darker horn of her head. "Would you like an audience Absol?"

"Sol!" Absol barked at him, but looked away sadly.

"We can arrange that." Kyle held up his pokeballs. "If you're done with your dinner, return everyone!" All his pokemon were finished except Absol, and returned.

"I guess I should return mine too then." I pulled out Lucario's pokeball, and tapped the button on latch.

"_She's worried about you both. She's afraid it will make you faint too."_ Lucario said as the red light engulfed him. He was sucked back into his pokeball.

"Aw Absol." I walked over to her after I put my pokeballs away. "Pokemon attacks don't really affect humans much. It only happens if they harbor ill feelings during it." I thought about the many times Palkia had swatted me away like a fly with its tail. Luckily that didn't happen as much anymore.

"Go ahead." Kyle sat beside the fire. "Sing us your song."

"Sol…" Absol sat uncomfortably. She opened her mouth to sing, but closed it back, looking unsure.

"Come on Absol!" I cheered. "We want to hear your beautiful singing!"

"Ab?" She smiled a bit before opening her mouth once more. She took a position like a wolf baying at the moon as she began crooning out to us with dark undertones. "Sollll! Sol Sollllll!"

"That's definitely a Perish Song." I heard Kyle murmur.

"Solllllllll! Sol Sol Sollllllll!" She let her head drop slowly.

I watched as a flock of murkrow that were flying overhead of Eterna Forest suddenly plummeted. "That was great absol!" I tried not to let my unease show.

"Beautiful." Kyle ruffled up some of her thick fur. "That was a wonderful song."

"Sol Ab Sol." Absol looked away in embarrassment, but with a smile on her face.

"It really was pretty." Kyle's green eyes were sparkling. It was nearly nightfall, and they stood out in the dark. I sighed as I watched him give Absol a hug and recall her. His brown hair had hints of red in them. I liked how his thick black glasses framed his face. He really was so nice, and handsome, and…

"Checking me out?" He asked without turning to look my way.

"I umm," I looked away. I couldn't deny it. "Maybe."

"Thought so." He unrolled a sleeping bag from his backpack and glanced up to wink at me. He also let Arcanine back out, who took his spot now by the fire. When we camped out like this, he would be on lookout for anything out of the ordinary, as well as take care of the fire.

I reached into my oversized tote bag, looking for my sleeping bag. I had noticed my purse was particularly lighter today, but I couldn't figure out why until now. "I can't find mine!"

"What?" Kyle slipped down into his dark green sleeping bag. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah! It's gone." I left my hand absent-mindedly laying in the purse. "I remember now. I took it out the other day when I had to get out my stuff to make poffins. I think I left it in our room at Floraroma Town."

"You serious?" Kyle looked a bit aggregated. "That was a full day's worth of travel." He started crawling out of his bag. "But let's go get it."

"No it's okay." I put my hand out to stop him. "I'll make do. I'm tired. I don't want to go back."

He cocked his head with question on his face. "Then let me out and you can have mine. I can sleep by Arcanine."

Arcanine wagged his tail at the prospect of that.

"That's not necessary." I blushed as I stared at the sleeping bag. His was a little larger than mine. I slowly crawled my way over, lifting the flap on the bag. I wiggled my way inside, somehow managing to zip it around us. I had to do it twice though. I caught my long hair in the zipper the first time. I noticed him blushing just as much as me as our bodies were pressed tightly against each other.

"You sure you 'forgot' yours?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Yes! I did." I buried my blushing face in his neck and took a deep breath. The heat from his body was intoxicating.

"I love you." I heard him whisper. He kissed my forehead.

"Love you too." I looked up at him, reveling in how close we were.

"Goodnight Angel." He now kissed me gently on the lips before closing his eyes to sleep.

I couldn't sleep just yet. I kept thinking about life, and what it held for us. Watching Arcanine and Kyle sleep, they both had a hardened look on their face. It was as if they were always on guard. I silently wondered to myself what they had went through in Johto and Hoenn. I felt like I only knew a piece of the story. I wriggled my hand free, bringing it up to Kyle's face. He didn't stir when I brushed a bit of his hair back. "I want to know everything there is to you." I whispered. "The good and the bad."

Arcanine opened one eye to stare at me.

I yawned quietly. I laid my hand down and placed my head on it. Though I really didn't mean to forget my sleeping bag, I found this surprisingly comfortable. I closed my eyes and opened them once more to look at Kyle's face. Confident that he was asleep, I whispered in an almost inaudible voice. "I want to be more than your girlfriend too. I want to be your wife someday." I felt my heart flutter at the words. Just the idea made me want to kick my feet in excitement, but I held back and wiggled my toes instead. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

**x-x-x**

Kyle opened his eyes slowly. She was definitely asleep now. She was softly snoring beside him. He smiled at the noises she made as she slept. It was not an annoying, or even loud snore. It was more like louder than usual breathing. He wondered if she knew she did that.

He wanted to know everything about her as well. Her words made him feel confident about their future together. He let out a sigh as she nuzzled against his chest.

"You don't need to worry Shonna." He glanced over to Arcanine, who had a knowing smile on his face. "You will be."


	49. A Celestic Love!

**x-x-x**

Episode 48: A Celestic Love!

"Come on!" Kyle said as he dragged me along by the hand to the chapel at Hearthome City.

"What are we doing here?" I asked, looking up at the huge bell at the steeple.

"Did you forget?" He handed me a bunch of flowers seemingly out of nowhere before pushing open the doors.

Flowers adorned every corner of the Hearthome Church. White rose petals seemed to rain down in the building. All of our pokemon sat at the rear of the church, and I noticed mom up at the front pew, holding a tissue to her nose. Kyle ran down to the front of the church, right beside the minister. I walked forward, still unsure of what to make of this.

"_Congratulations Ma."_ I heard Lucario whisper. He gave me a wave.

I gripped onto my bundle of roses as I crossed to the end of the room. The minister stared down at me. "Do you take this man to be your husband?"

"What?" My eyes widened as I turned to Kyle, who had a big grin on his face.

"Is there a problem?" The old man gave me a bizarre look.

"No! I… I do!" I blurted out without a second thought.

The man turned to Kyle now. "And do you take this woman, to be your wife?"

"I do." His eyes softened.

"Then I pronounce you husband and wife." I couldn't believe the words he was saying. "You may kiss…"

Before he could even finish his sentence, I pulled Kyle into the kiss. I could feel tears streaming down my face, but I kissed him still with everything I had. When I finally pulled away, I glanced down at my hand. There was no ring.

"Oh yeah!" Kyle smiled before turning around. "Hey best man!"

A dark figure emerged into the white chapel. "Right here buddy." He said sadistically. His long red hair and the black cape he wore waved as he strode forward.

"Kyle!" I screamed, jumping back. "It's Ricky!"

"Yeah? I know that." Kyle looked confused.

Ricky stepped toward me, grabbing my flowers by the top, crushing them in his fist. "Nice to see you again, little flower."

**x-x-x**

I awoke the next morning to the sound of my screaming. I was shaking, and Arcanine stood on all fours nearby, looking worried. Kyle stared back at me with concern in his eyes as well. He was still cuddled up beside me in the sleeping bag.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "I tried to wake you. One minute you're kissing me like crazy, the next you're screaming your head off."

"Bad dream." I said, looking down.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked.

I couldn't say I was dreaming of our wedding. "No. It's okay. Wait a second…I kissed you?" I scooted back against the wall of the sleeping bag.

"Yeah." He answered, with a wide grin on his face. "And it was good too."

I blushed a little. I squirmed my way around until I found the zipper, jerking it down to let myself free.

"You know I liked last night!" Kyle laughed. "You should forget your sleeping bag more often!"

"Yeah yeah." I joked back. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

He nodded with the same grin.

"Arf!" Arcanine walked up to me as I got up. He gave me a quick lick on the cheek.

"Good morning to you too Arcanine!" I hugged the giant striped dog around the neck. "Thanks for the sentry duty last night, and watching the fire."

"Arf Arf!" Arcanine rushed over to the embers, sitting on them to put it out.

"That looks like it would have hurt." I laughed. "But I guess not for you."

"Nope." Kyle stood now beside me. "Arcanine could handle molten lava if he wanted." He reached up to pet Arcanine's head. "But yeah. Thanks for the hard work boy. You're the best." He reached around with his other hand to recall him.

"What are we doing today Kyle?" I stretched my arms out, trying to sort out all the kinks in my muscles. Being tightly wound up in that bag last night gave me some cramps.

He popped out his huge motorcycle from the capsule it was contained in. The navigation screen took a while to load. "Well, according to this, if we go full speed we could potentially reach Solacean Town."

I didn't like his idea of 'full speed'. "And if we don't?"

Kyle laughed, propping himself up on the bike. He slung his bookbag into a large container at the side. "Well, we might reach Celestic Town before nightfall."

"Traveling back to the other side of Sinnoh is exhausting." I wiped at my forehead as I took my seat behind him.

"It's not so bad." He said with a sly smile. "I might just go slow today so we can camp out again before we reach a pokemon center."

"Don't do that!" I laughed, punching him lightly in the back.

Kyle revved the engine, taking off toward Eterna Forest.

The forest was dark. It was a lot like Viridian Forest back in Kanto. Lots of trees, and lots of bug pokemon. It was certainly not my favorite place to be, but I felt much more comfortable with my arms around Kyle's waist as we sped down the path. Several combee flew past us with their wings covered in thick pollen. I gripped tighter to Kyle, but they really weren't that scary anymore. They were actually sort of cute. I doubted that I would ever think that of their evolved forms though, or of my nemesis the Beedrill.

Some Buneary bounded out of the way from Kyle's bike. "Wow. They almost got hit."

"No they didn't!" Kyle laughed. "I'm always careful of wild pokemon."

I looked back to the forest around me. There were wild Beautifly flying around now. They were pretty, but not near as beautiful as my dear Butterfree. I wondered to myself how all my old pokemon were doing at the day-care center. I could just see Butterfree playing happily above the pond. He'd probably be pestering the love struck Vaporeon and Umbreon right about now...

I felt a bump as we drove along. Kyle slammed on the brakes, making me lurch forward into his back. He turned the bike around, and once we were stopped, we both could see something fluffy and brown flattened on the road.

"Oh my god!" I jumped off, leaving my purse on the bike, and ran to the fallen pokemon. It was a buneary, and it was far too gone to save. The pokemon CPR I knew was not going to be helping this one. "It's dead."

"That's impossible!" Kyle ran up to me. "It wasn't there earlier. I know it wasn't!"

"Well it obviously was." I said, turning my head away. "Poor thing."

Kyle frowned, shaking his head. "I can't believe it."

I tried to look at the trees, anything but the grave scene beside me. When I looked back briefly, I could see Kyle touch one of the Buneary's ears. When he did, the entire pokemon disappeared.

"What the?" I now turned my whole head to look at the empty ground. There was still an imprint in the grass, but the pokemon was missing. "Where did it go?"

"That looked like…" Kyle looked around, turning back to see something squirming on the bike. "That was the move substitute!"

"Ah ha!" I snuck up behind the bike, finding a fluffy tail sticking out of my bag. "Seems we have ourselves another little thief." I grabbed the rabbit by its back legs. It had its fuzzy paws wrapped around my metal tin of poffins. "I know a lot of pokemon like my poffins, but this is getting ridiculous."

"Bun bun!" The buneary squirmed in my grip.

"Don't like being held upside down?" I flipped her around in my arms. "Now, we should discuss this issue with you throwing out a dead substitute and scaring us to death."

"Bun!" Buneary slapped its giant floppy ears at me, making me drop her. She hopped away swiftly. Before long, she disappeared into the forest.

"Well that was a time waster." Kyle said, leaning against his bike.

"Yeah. But I'm going after her!" I stomped forward, into the forest depths.

"Why? Surely you're not going to try and catch that thieving pokemon too. We already have enough of that from your Luxray."

"I don't think I could if I wanted to." I said, glancing back his way. "Substitute isn't a move buneary learns naturally. I think it might be owned by someone. Or at least it was at one time."

"So like I said, you're going after it." He propped the bike up on the kickstand.

"I feel like that buneary has a story." I smiled, taking another step into the forest. "Besides that, I want my tin back! I could care less about the poffins, but I've had that tin forever!"

Kyle shook his head and laughed. "Why don't you just let Lucario out to translate for you?"

"Hey. Have a little more faith." I ran now to catch up with the buneary. "I'm going to figure this one out on my own."

Luckily I didn't have to run too far away. Just a few short feet from where we parked, hidden in a bunch of shrubbery, was a group of buneary, and one giant Lopunny. She had a very leader-like quality about her, but also a haughty air surrounded her. It seemed to rub off on her buneary followers as well. Most of them sat fanning her with giant leaves as she sat on a rock that sort of resembled a throne.

I watched quietly from behind bushes as the buneary from before slowly approached her. She handed out her paws, giving up my tin of poffins as a sort of offering.

"Lopunny." The Lopunny spat, before standing in front of buneary. It took one look at the metal tin and kicked it out of Buneary's arms.

"Bun bun bun!" The other buneary laughed.

Both of the smaller buneary's ears flopped down as it gathered the scattered poffins sadly.

"Lo Lo!" Lopunny laughed, and raised her small paws to smack her.

"Stop!" I yelled out, making all the buneary, and the Lopunny freeze. They stared at me only for a moment before taking off running. The only one that remained was the smallest buneary of the bunch, the one who had stolen my tin. She turned and glared up at me.

"Bun." She tossed the tin of poffins at me, hitting my leg. I picked it up when she did. "Bun Bun!"

The little bunny continued to scream about something. I couldn't understand her, but it was clear to me that she was not a wild pokemon. Her knowing a TM attack, lack of respect from wild pokemon, and not running like mad from me indicated that. Whatever the case, she was very angry, and ranting about something.

"Hey." I leaned down to her level, making her finally quiet down. "You obviously know how us humans work. So nod if you mean yes, and shake your head if you mean no."

I wondered if she understood. She remained silent.

"Okay." I took a deep breath. "You have a trainer, correct?"

She shook her head no, looking sort of sad.

"Then, you used to?"

She nodded. Again, she looked very sad.

"Did they abandon you?"

She didn't make a move this time. Her eyes seemed to glaze over a bit.

"Sorry. You don't have to answer that." I sat down on the grass now. "I must say though, I really hate it when trainers mass catch a certain type of pokemon, scan them to see which is strongest, and release the rest. I'm guessing that's what happened to you. Though that wouldn't add up with why they taught you substitute." I paused. "Unless it was some ploy to attract other buneary."

She didn't move.

"So, those buneary didn't respect you for the fact you weren't wild, and wouldn't accept you?"

She nodded. "Bun bun."

"Don't try to please them." I crossed my arms. "They don't know what they're missing."

"Bun?" One of buneary's ears perked.

"Yeah." I smiled, leaning back. "Bunch of bullies."

"Bun…" Buneary looked around uneasily.

"So?" I laid back in the grass, placing my hands behind my head. "You obviously shouldn't stay here. You can't go back to your trainer. What will you do?"

Buneary hopped away into a shrub.

I sat up, watching her leave. "Too bad." I mumbled. "But I can't force her to come with me."

"Bun!" Buneary now came back out with a broken red pokeball in her paws. It was completely snapped apart, in two separate pieces.

"Is that your old pokeball?" I guessed. It was so busted, there would be no way to find out any information on it. Not that I would have wanted to.

"Bun." Buneary smashed her ears against it, knocking it to the ground. She continued a Dizzy Punch attack on it.

My eyes widened. "Wow. You really didn't like your trainer huh?"

"Bun bun eary." Buneary glared back at me. It was hard to believe something so cute could hold so much hate.

"I take it you won't come with me then?" I sat up slowly.

"Bun? Bun!" She backed up, looking angry with me for suggesting it.

"Okay no pokeballs. No anything if you want." I leaned forward a bit. "But I want to help you somehow. If not with me, I know a place where a lot of different pokemon would love to meet you. There's a pond, and lots of grass and trees, and there is food everyday."

"Bun…" Buneary sat down beside me now, looking intrigued.

"So…" I reached out my hand. "Would you like that Buneary?"

She jumped back with a look of distrust.

"Well." I stood up, starting to walk back to Kyle. I could see the bike through the trees. "Come along if you want." I could see Kyle up ahead nodding, but I had a feeling it might actually be him watching a hopping bunny behind me.

"So you did decide to catch it?" He asked.

"I didn't catch her." I said as I slid into the huge leather seat. "I just said she could accompany us to Solaceon town."

"Really?" He looked at me skeptically. "Any reason?"

I held open my arms for buneary, but she was hesitant. "She wants to see the day-care center."

"Well we'd better get going then." Kyle hopped on the bike, sitting directly in front of me. "We've got a long ways to go."

I watched as Buneary looked reluctantly to me, back to the forest, then back to me again. "Bun bun…"

Kyle revved the engine, and just as we pulled away, Buneary made a flying leap for my lap. I held her tight to me as we gained speed. The wind made her ears flop around.

"Good choice Buneary." I gently pet her head with one hand, clutching her against me with the other. "And don't worry. Where we're headed, all the pokemon will love you."

**x-x-x**

I watched quietly as night fell on Eterna City. All the lights kept me awake, though I found it difficult to sleep on the moving motorbike anyway unless I was dead tired. Buneary had fallen asleep a little while ago, turning my tote bag into a makeshift sleeping bag. Kyle had chosen to drive straight through tonight, and try and make it to Celestic Town.

We drove by the bike shop, the gym, and eventually past an eroded statue of Palkia that I had remembered seeing on my first trip through this city. As I watched us zoom by it, I found myself whispering to myself. "Little does anyone know that the real Palkia stands ten times larger than that statue, and is much more monstrous than they make it out to be."

Even over the roar of the engine, Kyle must have heard me. "You're doing much better with it though. It's hard to earn a pokemon like that's trust. A lot harder than the little fuzzball in your lap there."

I brushed back the fur on Buneary's long ears. She didn't stir. "I get the feeling she might have been abused."

"Really?" He slowed down, flicking on the headlights.

"Yes. Possibly from her trainer, but also from wild pokemon who took advantage of her." I leaned back a bit in the seat.

"It's awful what some people do." He grumbled as we approached the tunnel that winded through Mt. Coronet's base. It wouldn't be long now before we arrived at our destination.

I looked around at the darkness that engulfed us. Other than the occasional zubat, there wasn't much to see here. And with us moving so fast on the speedy bike, no trainers dared to cross our path, let alone challenge us. It was a peaceful trip through the caverns, and I was glad of it.

We emerged on the other end just as the stars crept out on the night sky. My eyes didn't have to focus much in the dark, but I could plainly see the tiny village just ahead of us. The town had few residents, much like my home. But the one it was home to made it famous in of itself. I flicked some of my hair back that was being a nuisance to me on this trip. Kyle looked back to me with question.

"So is there a pokemon center here?" He asked, turning to look back to the road.

"Yeah. It's a small little building at the other end. It's the same size as all the other houses actually." I pointed to a quaint little house just to our left as we entered town. "Can I stop and see Cynthia and Granny?"

"Sure." He pulled to a stop beside the house. I held Buneary gingerly in my arms as Kyle packed up his bike. After the third knock on the door, the old woman pulled back the door, letting us inside.

"Cynthia?" Granny squinted her eyes. "How'd you pull that trick? You were just inside!"

"It's Shonna, Granny." I reminded her.

Her eyes lit up with recognition. "Come on in!" She said, pulling out seats all around the table inside. "Have some tea. It's been so long since you've actually come to visit at the house Shonna."

"That it has." I said, sucking in the sweet scents of all the candles she kept. In actuality they were incense, but I liked to not think of them that way. Her house was tidy, but books were stacked in every corner of the house. It was all the stories she used to read when I was much younger, and various legends about pokemon.

A tap on my shoulder surprised me. I turned to see the blonde headed beauty. "Cynthia!"

"Hi Shonna!" Cynthia gave me a brief hug, careful not to squeeze the tiny fluffball in my arms. "What a cutie. Fast asleep. Is she yours?"

"Not exactly." I answered. "We're just escorting her to Solaceon town."

"I see. Well, welcome." She turned to Kyle. "To you as well."

"Thanks!" He said as he took a seat by the fireplace. I joined him at the table as Granny poured tea for everyone but me.

"You still don't like tea right?" Granny asked, pulling the kettle toward her.

"That's right. I honestly hate all forms of caffeine." I said grinning.

The elderly woman reached into her fridge for a bottle and slid it down the table to me. "Good thing there's plenty of water."

"Thank you." I bowed my head politely.

"So how have you all been?" Cynthia leaned over the table. "I know it hasn't been too long since I saw you, but still."

"We've been training for the past couple months." Kyle sipped on his tea.

"It's been going well." I added.

"Well that's always good." Cynthia leaned back now in her chair. "After all, we don't become pokemon masters out of thin air, do we?"

"Speaking of the air," Kyle pulled his mug away. "I saw some fog up ahead. Do you think that will be patched up by morning?"

"Probably not." Cynthia propped up one foot. "That fog rolls in at about this time of year and stays there. You shouldn't try driving your fancy bike through it, that's for sure."

Me and Granny stayed quiet. I glanced over at her and noticed her open her mouth to speak. "So, you must tell us. What did you children discover at Mt. Coronet's peak?"

Cynthia's eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of her head. "What?"

"Didn't they tell you?" Granny looked stunned. "They told me last time they were here that they had been to the mountain's peak." She pointed to Kyle. "He even said they had seen the pokemon of legends!"

Me and Kyle both cringed in our seats as Cynthia gave us a look of utter disbelief. I knew Kyle had said that in a fit of anger, long before I'd caught Palkia, but it certainly set us up to look bad now.

"You never told me that!" Cynthia looked mad now. "Why didn't you tell me Shonna?"

"Well, it was a fluke you know? One minute we're up there, see them, and then we somehow got zapped to an area outside Hearthome City. I'd call it a dream if Kyle didn't have the lump on his head to prove it."

"We both took pretty nasty falls." Kyle rubbed the back of his head. "I ended up with a concussion, so who knows what we really saw."

"Okay, so is that is?" Cynthia wrapped her coat around her.

We nodded.

"Funny." Granny leaned over by the fire. "I got the impression when you two left that you might return to the summit. Did you?"

Kyle looked away. I didn't want to lie anymore than he did, but in this case it was necessary. "We did go back up there. It was a difficult trek." I sucked in a deep breath. "But when we did get up there, there was nothing there really. And ever since then, the weather's been patching up right?"

"There must be a reason for that." Cynthia reached her hand across the table to touch mine. "You're a terrible liar Shonna. Tell me what happened."

I expelled a sigh. Kyle was giving me a look. "Fine."

"We need to go." Kyle stood up, reaching for my hand.

"No. It's okay Kyle." I scooted my chair back. "I trust Granny and Cynthia."

"Are you sure about this?" He stared back at me with questioning eyes.

"Yes." I turned to Granny and Cynthia now. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to add this to your research books. It's the last thing needed right now."

"So you did find something?" Granny's wrinkled face brightened.

"Yes." I pulled the purple masterball out, trying not to wake Buneary.

"Bun." She groaned as she turned around in my tote bag.

"This is a masterball." I held it up. "It contains the legendary pokemon Palkia."

"What? No way!" Cynthia jumped out of her seat.

"Impossible!" Granny's eyes widened.

Kyle sighed as he took his seat again.

"It's true." I rubbed the masterball with my thumb. "When we went up there, Palkia and Dialga were in the middle of their heated battle. I gave Palkia a strange orb Team Galactic had previously stolen, and it caused Giratina to appear."

"Just as the legends have said! And the cave walls, it is as they predicted." Granny was practically bouncing in her seat.

"Giratina?" Cynthia leaned against the table. "What happened?"

"Dialga escaped, but it sucked me, Kyle, and a Team Galactic leader up into a vortex. It was like a whole other world on the other side. Kyle and I were only able to escape through me capturing Palkia. The other man, unfortunately didn't make it out."

"This is wild." Cynthia whispered.

Everyone went silent. Kyle began tapping his foot on the floor. "And that's pretty much the whole story summed up." He said sternly.

"Amazing!" Granny got up to walk a few paces toward the fire. "We could rewrite the history books with this kind of knowledge. We could find out so much! Just from this right here." She reached for Palkia's masterball, but I jerked it back.

"No! You can't research Palkia. It's a wild card. It has little to no emotions, or respect for humanity. I don't want either of you anywhere near it." I glared at the pair of them. I trusted them to keep my secret, but I was sure that they would want to study Palkia at the first chance they could get their mitts on it.

"It's true." Kyle stood again. "My mother researched an Articuno in her lab back in Kanto. You have to have specialized facilities just to contain them, and even then it's extremely dangerous. Articuno's personality is pleasant compared to this thing. If you wanted to see it, you would be risking your life in the process."

"Then so be it." Cynthia walked around toward him, leaving me the only one at the table. "I want to see it. Grandma, you'll need to stay here. You're much to frail in the event that something goes wrong, but I want to see Palkia."

"Can't you just take our word for it Cynthia?" Feeling awkward, I stood. "It's everything that the legends say. Leave it at that."

"I won't." She stood firm.

"Well," Granny walked toward the stairs. "There is a guest room just up here. If you both would like, you can come back here and stay. It might be better than the pokemon center beds."

"Thank you." I walked toward the door and turned back to Cynthia. "Come along."

Kyle huffed behind us as we headed into the foggy forest at the town's edge. It was dark, and the fog rolled in thick. It was almost impossible to see more than 5 feet in front of me, so I figured it was the only real place around here to hide Palkia. I turned, seeing Cynthia and Kyle right behind me. I handed my bag to Kyle. Buneary peeked her sleepy head out at me.

"Here it is." I said, pressing the button on the ball. "Here's my Palkia."

"Kiiaaaaaaaaaa!" Palkia roared as it stretched its wings. It turned around to face me, staring me down with its deep red eyes. It pushed its long neck out, leaning down to my level. "Kiaaaaa!" It roared again, making my hair blow backwards.

"Bun!" Buneary screamed, squirming her way to the bottom of my purse.

I clapped. "Very good. Bravo. You really know how to make an entrance." I put my hands on my hips now. "Could you tone it down though? We're not trying to make a scene you know?"

The gem at Palkia's shoulder glistened. Even in the fog, it was easy to see_. "I'm tired of hiding."_ It groaned in its raspy voice.

"Well maybe if you'd quit being such a butthole I could use you in a battle every now and then."

"_And maybe if you'd quit being so scared you'd let me try."_

Cynthia looked to Kyle. "What is she doing?"

Kyle gripped onto my trembling purse. "Palkia has aura capabilities. She can speak with it as well."

"Amazing!" Cynthia turned to look back at the behemoth.

Palkia stood up smirking_. "I bet you'll use me in that pathetic league challenge you're preparing for."_

"You think I need you?" I smiled. "I like you pretty good, but you're not a necessity on my team."

"_Is that a fact?" _It glared.

"I'm keeping you around for your own safety right now."

Palkia sneered, turning its head away. _"As if I need your protection."_

"We're always at each other's throats." I grumbled. "Palkia, don't overdo it, but show my friend Cynthia what you can do."

Palkia slowly lifted me into the air using a faint bubble of pink aura. It was only a few feet, then about twenty. This move used to scare me at first, but now that we'd trained for a while, I was used to it. I turned in my bubble to Cynthia, looking down on her shocked face.

"What is that?" She asked.

"Palkia can do this by distorting the space around me. It's called Spacial Rend. It can render space to do something like this, or create a massive attack out of it."

Palkia began forming a dark swirling of the space around me. It constrained on the bubble, pushing on it, prepared to break it any second. I could see Kyle grit his teeth and reach up for the pokeball around his neck.

"Cut it out Palkia! I don't need you to demonstrate that part!" I screamed.

"_You're no fun."_ It said, letting go of the space around me. I fell into its claws.

"Yeah, well you're not the life of the party either." I said, pushing its claws open. I stood in its hand, then climbed up on its back. Palkia didn't seem to like that. I gripped on its thick wings for support. "Show them a Dragon Claw on a tree."

Palkia groaned. It powered up its claws, but it only needed to tap the nearby tree to make splinters fly out in all directions. Luckily Palkia's body blocked most of them from heading toward Kyle and Cynthia, who darted out of the way.

I slid down Palkia's tail and looked to Cynthia. She was in shock. "Palkia also knows aura sphere. And I think it might be part water-type since it knows the move surf."

"It's stunning." She gazed up at the glaring beast. I recalled it, making her eyes shift back to me.

"I've been working for the past few months to train it." I took my purse back and attempted to put my masterball up.

"Bun! Buneary!" Buneary shoved the ball back with her long ears.

"Oh stop." I giggled, shoving it down beside her. She leaped out of the purse, hopping onto my head. "I know Palkia's scary, but it won't hurt you Buneary."

"Bun bun." She said, crossing her little arms.

"You've trained it?" Cynthia stepped forward. "How is that even possible?"

"It's difficult." I yawned. "But things are a lot better now than they were at first. I think Palkia's finally coming to terms with the fact it's my pokemon now."

"As long as you reach that step," Cynthia swished her long hair around. "You'll be able to control it. It seems you've gained Palkia's trust."

"Just not its respect." I said, reaching for Kyle's hand. "I'm tired now."

"Oh please," Cynthia motioned back to her house. "Stay with us. I promise I won't reveal anything you've shown me today. It was worth it just to see such a magnificent and powerful pokemon."

I deliberated on this for a moment. "Eh, okay."

"You sure?" Kyle whispered.

"Yeah. It's fine." I pulled buneary off my head and let her drape over one of my arms like a stuffed animal as we walked inside the house.

Granny must have gone on to bed, leaving Cynthia to show us to our room. It was on the second floor. There were no bunks beds like the tiny pokemon center rooms. Instead they had two single beds on each end of the room. I noticed a video phone in the corner and made a mental note to use it.

"Here you go." Cynthia closed the door behind her. "Make yourselves at home."

"Bun bun!" Buneary hopped down, climbing into the left bed. Kyle threw his stuff down on the right. I walked over to sit down at the video phone, making an important call I'd neglected to make in quite some time. I felt like I was looking at a reflection of myself as mom's face appeared on the screen.

"You really know how to make a mother worry!" She looked sad. "You haven't called since you started training in Floraroma Town."

"Sorry about that." I looked down, feeling pretty low. "I know I should have called sooner."

Mom sighed on the other end. "I feel I'm slowly losing you to that boy."

Kyle coughed from behind me.

"Anyway." She leaned forward in the screen. "Where are you now?"

"You'll be happy to know I'm very close to home actually." I grinned. "I'm at Cynthia and her grandmother's house."

"What? Really?" Mom seemed to perk up a bit. "So you're in Celestic Town?"

"Yep! Gran offered to let us stay here tonight."

"Such a sweet lady. I'm only sorry she's not your real grandmother. But she's always been so good to you, treating you like one of her own." She smiled slightly. "Be sure to thank her for me."

"I will."

"So then will you be passing through Solaceon Town?"

"Yes. There's a thick fog to contend with along the way though, so I don't know exactly when."

"Oh." One could plainly see the concern on her face. Much like me, she wasn't good at hiding her emotions. "You be careful then Shonna. And when you get here, be sure to stop by. You can stay the night back at home here too you know."

I didn't know how she'd react to this, but I had to ask. "And Kyle?"

She rubbed a spot on her forehead with one finger. "I don't approve of the idea of you and your boyfriend sleeping together under my roof."

I felt my eye twitch nervously.

"I know it's probably silly, seeing as how you've been sleeping in the same room as him for ages now, but it's still disrespectful, don't you think?"

I shook my head no. Kyle's head appeared above mine now with a pitiful look. He mocked my motion of shaking his head as well.

"Ugh." Mom shrugged. "Whatever. He can stay. But as you know, we don't have a guest room or anything of that sort. He'll have to stay on the couch."

"That's fine." I said this with a smile, although I actually didn't like the idea of having to be away from him, even if it was only a few feet.

"See you sometime tomorrow then." She reached for the end call button. "Love you. Take care."

"Love you too." I reached for the button now as well, and turned the screen black.

"So…" Kyle leaned over me. "Do I get to see your room?"

"What?" I was bewildered by that question.

"Your room? When we get there, can I just see it?"

"Why do you want to see my room Kyle?" I asked in a suspicious, but joking tone.

He flashed a brilliant smile. It made me want to melt in his arms. "Just to see what you like. Learn a bit more about you, you know?"

"You know a lot already." I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Not near enough." He whispered.

Moments later, I found myself entwined in his arms, kissing him. Sometimes I wished I had just come out and told him I liked him earlier, if only so I could have experienced this much sooner. We kissed over and over, and I felt his hand run up my back, lacing his fingers through my hair.

"Bun!" Buneary complained, making me pull away and glance over to her. She had her ears flopped over her eyes, trying to cover them.

"Buneary." I chuckled. "You cute thing."

"You're the cutie." Kyle reached up and touched my cheek. "Miss blushy face."

I shooed his hand away. "Are you ever going to stop teasing me?"

"Never. You'll just have to learn to love it." His forest green eyes stared back at me, holding my gaze.

_Here comes that melting._ I thought. _How is it even possible to feel this happy?_

He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight angel."

In response, I held my hand up to where he'd kissed. "Night Kyle."

He yawned, crossing the room to his bed. He flopped down on it, making the springs squeak. I sat down at the edge of my bed, and sat my purse down on the floor beside it. I slowly lifted the masterball out from it, making Buneary take cover under the sheets.

"Don't worry." I whispered to her. "I'm not letting Palkia out, I'm only thinking." I rolled the ball around in my palm. "I think I can protect you just fine Palkia. And I bet deep down, you care just as much about me as I do about you." I slipped the ball back down my purse, and saw Kyle roll over on his bed to look at me. He just smiled.

"Bunnnnnn…" Buneary yawned.

"Okay, we'll go to bed." I laid down on my side, letting Buneary curl up by my chest. She flopped her brown ears down over my arm. I glanced back up to Kyle. He was smiling at me sweetly. "Goodnight honey." I let the words escape me before realizing it. _Did I just call him honey?_

His eyes widened a bit, but then he smiled again. "Goodnight sweetheart."

I felt my heart flutter a bit. I squeezed buneary a little in joy and turned over with her in my arms.

"Bun!" She whined, trying to squirm away.

I kicked my feet for most of the night, until I finally fell asleep.


	50. The Day Care Hare!

**x-x-x**

Episode 49: The Day-Care Hare!

I woke up to some Starly chirping outside the room. It was always so inviting to wake up to the sounds of pokemon. For as much as I liked the glitz and glam of the cities we had visited, I would never want to live anywhere but the countryside. It just felt like home. I could only think of one other way I'd like to be woken up in the mornings. I turned with a sly smile to Kyle, prepared to rush over and give him a kiss. He was conveniently, missing. I looked around the room now, rubbing my eyes. Buneary was gone too, and one of my pokeballs was lying on the floor. It was lucario's, and it was empty.

"Where is everyone?" I asked quietly. I could hear some voices downstairs so I gathered my things to investigate. From the top of the stairs, I could see Cynthia and Granny sitting in the dining area.

"Did you have a good sleep child?" Granny looked up from a book she was reading.

"Yes." I climbed down the stairs carefully.

"We were just discussing the nature of what to do about your legendary." Granny closed her book and slid it to the middle of the table.

Cynthia looked up to me. "We'll respect your wishes and not publish anything on it. It would not be moral of us to do so without your permission." She smiled. "But if you ever decide to let it be studied, please let us know."

"Yeah, I will." I tried to ignore them on that subject. "Have either of you seen Kyle? Or Buneary? Or Lucario for that matter?"

"Your Lucario came downstairs earlier pestering me to let Lucia out." Cynthia sipped on some coffee. "So I did. They're probably off frolicking somewhere."

I laughed. "That sounds about like him."

Granny turned to me. "I saw the young man walk out earlier this morning. The fluffy buneary followed him."

"Really?" I found it interesting that Buneary would follow him, but perhaps she just wanted something to do this morning. "Any idea where they headed?"

"They're out by the fog." Cynthia said, brushing back some of her thick hair. "I think he said he wanted to give his bike a wash."

"Oh." I pulled my purse over my shoulder, readjusting it. "Well, if I don't see you two again today, thanks for letting us stay last night. We really appreciate it."

"No problem." Cynthia scooted back in her seat. "You and Kyle take care! We'll be watching you in the league."

"That's right!" Granny laughed. "I'll get the tv fixed just to see that!"

I chuckled nervously as I headed out the door. "I forgot just how nerve-racking a league competition is." I mumbled to myself as I walked down the road. "Everyone will be watching. I hope I do okay."

"_You'll do fine!"_ A voice said from behind me. I turned to see Lucario running after me. Lucia was walking back into Cynthia's house in the distance.

"_You think so?"_ I used telepathy for this conversation. We continued to walk down the road toward the foggy end of town.

"_I know it!"_ He beamed. _"With how much you've been training all of us, we can't lose." _His face suddenly turned serious._ "But I really don't get why you're bothering with Palkia. You can't use it in battle, and I know if you did, that monster would just find a way to make a fool out of you."_

"_Have a little more faith in your teammate."_ I glanced down to the masterball in my bag. _"Palkia is trying you know. I've seen a lot of effort from it over the last few months."_

"_Effort trying to make you miserable that is."_ Lucario mumbled. We could both see Kyle and his shiny red bike in the fog now. More than that though, we could hear the loud rock music he was playing on the radio of it. Buneary sat obediently beside him, holding a rag in her mouth.

"Alright little helper." He had a bottle of wax in his hand, and reached out to Buneary with the other. "I'll take that now."

"Bun-eary!" Buneary cheered through her teeth. She hopped up onto the leather seat, handing him the rag. I watched as Kyle leaned down to rub in the wax, making it buff to a shine. Buneary suddenly got a sneaky look on her face as she flipped a button on the radio. Some girly pop song began to play, making Kyle cringe.

"Hey!" He peeked his head over the seat to look at her, but saw me and Lucario in the process. "Good morning!" He yelled.

"Morning!" I called back. I walked around to the rear of the bike, inspecting every side with scrutiny. "Right here." I pointed. "You missed a spot right here."

"You could pick out a tiny speck of dirt on a pair of brown boots Shonna." He shook his head and rubbed out the dirt with the cloth. "Don't know how you do that."

"It's a gift." I smirked. "Or a curse, depending on how you want to look at it."

He just laughed and continued to buff out the bike. I watched as Buneary hopped down to check out Lucario. She bounced around his feet, trying to reach his height, and he gave her a strange look back.

"So." I turned back to Kyle. "Why are you washing it today? It's not like we'll be using it with this fog."

"Exactly." He pulled out the travel case the bike magically could fit into and began packing it up. "I won't be getting it dirty again for a while. I mean, there wouldn't be much point if I were going to drive though the swampy areas around here anytime soon. But since I'm not…" He squeezed the case shut and pushed it down into his book bag.

"I get it." I looked into the thick fog now. "So just how do you plan on attacking this fog? If we try and walk through it, we'll get lost in no time."

Lucario touched his furry paw to my shoulder. _"I can see the aura of the plants and pokemon, so I might be able to lead us through. Or you could have Staraptor whip the fog away with her new attacks."_

_That's pretty good suggestions. _I smiled at him as Buneary continued to hop around and annoy him.

"I have an idea." Kyle pulled a pokeball from his bag and held it tight. "It would probably be the simplest solution, though risky."

I wondered what the pokeball held. "If you say so." I turned to Lucario and returned him. Buneary hopped up to my shoulder. "So what's your plan?"

"Come with me." He held his hand out, and I gladly took it. We walked straight into the thickest portion of the fog. I grabbed Kyle's hand in both of mine, afraid to let go. "Right here." I heard him whisper. I could feel the motion of him tossing out the pokeball with his other hand, but I couldn't tell just which one he'd released. It was quiet for a while, then a tiny snowflake appeared on my nose.

"It's snowing?" It had been so warm just seconds ago. "Why's it suddenly so cold?"

"Cuuuunno." A giant blue bird stepped out of the fog, letting out its cry softly. It almost seemed to smile at us with its gray beak. _It's beautiful!_

"_I'm not an 'it'. I'm female."_ A voice as smooth as the ice surrounding us echoed through my head.

"Oh wow!" I spoke up. "I can hear you too."

"Shonna?" Kyle looked at me. "You can talk to Articuno too?"

"Yep!" I nodded.

"_Don't think you're special with that."_ Articuno flapped her wings a bit_. "Kyle can hear me as well."_

"He can?" I turned to him.

"It's true." He smiled.

"But how? I thought…"

"_It's quite simple."_ Articuno folded her wings in behind her. _"He doesn't have to have the abilities you have. But I'm powerful enough that I can simply enforce my telepathy on him."_

"I guess that kind of makes sense." I still held tight to his hand. "Well regardless, I'm very happy to finally meet you Articuno."

"_Likewise."_ She spread her wings out and lowered_. "Now hop on."_

Kyle sat in front of me on the giant bird. It was a cold seat. I clung to Kyle for warmth as Articuno raised into the air and flew right over the fog.

"Sorry about that." Kyle chuckled. "It snows wherever Articuno goes."

"I've noticed." I touched one hand to her slick blue feathers. "Pardon me for asking Articuno, but are you really a girl? I've always heard legendary pokemon have no gender."

"_That's some silly myth the humans have created. Pokemon of legends are endangered, but not genderless. I wouldn't be able to breed and reproduce any more of my kind if that were true."_

"So there are more of you?" Her feathers were icy to the touch, so I pulled my hand away.

"There are." Kyle answered. "They're very rare, but there's definitely more than one. At least of Articuno. I'm not so sure about Palkia though."

"Bun." Buneary couldn't take it anymore and snuck down into my purse for warmth.

"I'm not sure either. But it doesn't mind me calling it 'it' either."

Articuno snorted a bit at that.

"Articuno." Kyle pressed down a bit on her back. "Once we reach the end of the fog, land somewhere on the edge, so you can remain hidden."

"_Sounds good."_ She began to slowly floating down into the fog. _"I'll leave you pointed in the direction. Don't get lost, okay?"_

"Got it." He pet the back of her neck gently.

I sighed. "I hope someday me and Palkia like each other like you two do."

Nobody said anything as we landed in the fog. Kyle and I slid off her back like an icy slide and pointed ourselves in her direction. He returned her to his pokeball without turning to look at her. "Okay. Let's just keep walking straight and we should be fine."

I took a step, feeling buneary squirm in my purse. She leaped out, taking off behind us.

"Buneary no! We've got to stick together!" Even though I said this, I chased after her in reaction.

"Shonna wait!" I heard Kyle cry from somewhere in the mist.

"Bun bun!" Buneary leaped for an oran berry bush that had attracted her attention. I scooped up Buneary in my arms and stood to look around. Unease crept into me instantly. What had to be minutes felt like hours. There was something about the fog now, with the added cold that made me feel terribly lost and vulnerable. It was completely silent, and nothing besides the bush now was visible in the fog. I felt a chill run up my spine, but it wasn't from the still lingering flurries.

A twig snapped behind me. I turned, fearing the worst. _What will I do if it's Ricky?_ I thought to myself. I gripped tighter to Buneary.

"Bun!" She whined.

The figure walked closer, looking only like a shadow in the fog. _Maybe I should run. Maybe then I can lose him. Maybe I can get away._

The shadow crept closer, and I reacted, I turned to run away, when I felt him pull me back with his arm. The sheer force of the jerk made me fall to my knees. "No! Let me go!" I screamed.

"Shonna!" Kyle's voice yelled. "It's okay! It's just me!"

"Bun bun!" Buneary squirmed out of my grasp and up to my shoulder.

I looked up to his face. It was him, but I looked down and back up, double-checking myself.

"You alright?" He pulled me up to stand.

"Yeah." I tried to shake off my shivering and embarrasment. "Sorry about that. I thought you might be…"

"I know." He reached down for an oran berry and handed it to Buneary.

"Bun!" Buneary happily took it and munched away.

"Now," He took my hand. "Let's get out of here."

**x-x-x**

From there, we walked through the fog without another hitch, unless you count the occasional trainer battles on route, which we beat easily. I was glad to be out of that creepy mist, and back on the familiar road to my home in Solaceon Town. We were walking down the hillside, still hand in hand when buneary leaped from my shoulder to run ahead.

"Hey Buneary!" I called out. "Wait up!" She kept running, as if she knew the home I promised her was just ahead. I quickened my pace as well, feeling happy to be home, even though I knew we wouldn't be there long. Buneary headed straight for the grassy field of the day-care center, where lots of different pokemon, including my own, greeted her at the fence line.

"Bun bun!" Buneary beamed, smiling brightly with her wide teeth. I grabbed her, just before she squirmed under the fence. "Bunnnn!" She wailed.

"Now hold up." I tossed her into the air as we walked around to the front door of the center. "Just let me get you signed in and you can go play." Kyle opened the door for me and I walked in to surprising quiet lobby. No one was around, even though the bell above the door went off. I shrugged, and signed buneary in on the clipboard myself. I was half way through, when the girl's voice carried through the hall.

"Coming! Coming!" Angie ran down the hall, stopping when she saw me. "Oh. It's you."

"Hi again." I set the pen down. "I'm just dropping off this pokemon."

"Fine." Angie checked over my paper. "Is it your buneary?"

"Actually no." I held buneary close as she tried to squirm away. "But I'll be paying the charges."

"Your other ones are doing well." Angie looked to the door. "Stephen fed them earlier."

"Did he really?" This surprised me.

"Yes. He's back there now." She pointed behind her. "If you wanna say hi."

"Not really." I laughed, but yelled anyway. "Hey Stephen! Thanks for feeding the pokemon!"

"That you Shonna?" Stephen yelled back from the back room. "Come here! There's someone on the phone here who wants to speak with you."

"The phone?" I questioned. I looked to Kyle who just shrugged as he followed me back. Stephen sat at the pc, grinning goofily as he turned into his seat to look at me. He scooted back in the rolling chair, revealing his cowboy brother on the screen. "Travis?"

"Howdy Shonna!" Travis shouted. "Sure has been a while. You're as pretty as ever!"

I glanced back at Kyle, who glared down at the monitor. "Umm…"

"Well I'm sure glad to see you doing well." Suddenly he pulled over a pretty blonde onto the screen. "I was just telling Stephen how I got engaged. This here's my fiancé Sophie!"

"Hehe!" The ditzy blonde giggled, squirming out of his grip.

"Congratulations." I smiled a bit. "I'm glad you finally found that hard working woman you were looking for."

"Oh she ain't hard working." Travis laughed. "But she sure is mighty fine! Prettiest lady this side of Johto! Well, I gotta go. Time to milk the miltank. Nice talking to ya'll!" The screen went blank.

"She sure was." Stephen drooled.

"Uh. Yeah." I walked back to the main lobby, wondering why I'd bothered coming back there in the first place. Kyle and Stephen followed, until Stephen suddenly rushed forward and hugged me from behind.

"You're back for good now, right Shonna?"

"Quit it Stephen!" I squirmed almost as much as the writhing buneary in my arms.

"Cut it out, twit." Kyle grabbed Stephen by the shoulder hard, jerking him away.

"What's up with you dude?" Stephen barked, glaring back. The two looked like they might break out in a fight. Angie just shook her head as she watched the scene.

"Just stop it Stephen." I yelled, sitting buneary down on the counter for a minute. "You can't act like that. I've never liked it, and now…" I blushed slightly. "I'm taken. I'm Kyle's girlfriend."

"Say what?" Stephen looked shocked. "But, you're mine!"

"I am not!" I frowned. "I'm sure your family would like it that way, and they may have you convinced of that, but I never have been, and never will be." I crossed the room to Kyle, wrapping my arm around his. His muscles were tense. "I'm Kyle's girl now, and you'll just have to accept that."

No one said anything for a while, then, the bell rang above the entrance door.

"Excuse me." A meek voice interrupted. "I'd like to drop off a pokemon." A real southern bell stood before us. A pale blonde in a pretty dress and hat walked in with a pachirisu. She sat the pokemon down on the counter where buneary sat patiently, and they greeted each other. "Oh!" The girl pat buneary's head gently "What an adorable pokemon."

"That's mine!" Stephen rushed up to the counter, scooping up Buneary. "She is a cutie isn't she?" He put a deeper tone to his voice. "But then again, so are you."

The girl giggled, blushing a little.

"Bun!" Buneary wailed, squirming.

"Give me a break!" I grabbed buneary from him and let her out into the field. "You don't own a pokemon, or even like them."

"Oh." The girl frowned. She signed her papers and walked out swiftly.

"Now what'd you do that for?" Stephen grumbled. "That pokemon's a total chick magnet! Just like the little yellow rat! But it won't let me anywhere near it without shocking me!"

"The pichu?" Angie spoke up. "Thank goodness for that. You shouldn't be flirting with the customers."

"Agreed." Kyle mumbled.

Angie and Stephen began to get into it over that, and I took the opportunity to sneak out to the field with Kyle. Umbreon and Vaporeon were sitting beside each other lovingly, but luckily there were no eggs in sight this time. Butterfree was already making buneary feel welcome and giving her a tour via riding his back. And Pikachu and Pichu were over in the corner playing, but when they noticed us, Pichu charged forward to us, leaping into to Kyle's arms.

"Pichu." Kyle smiled as the mouse crawled up into his hair. "It hasn't been that long."

"Pi pi pi!" Pichu held up his tiny arms in protest.

"Yeah I know." He stroked the pokemon's fur. "I missed you too."

"Everything looks in order here." I looked around at the meadow. "But where are Mary and John? They're still not here."

Angie approached through the door, holding the pachirisu carefully in her arms. "Can I talk to you Shonna?" She set the pokemon down carefully. "It's important."

"Sure." I nodded.

"Umm…" Angie turned away for a moment, and waited until Kyle walked away to play with Pichu for a while before she continued. "We're in a bit of a bind right now. I mean, I can take care of it of course, but it's getting hard. Ever since John passed away…"

"John passed away?" My heart sunk a little. He was always so sick, and I knew it would happen soon, but it still surprised me. "Is Mary alright?"

"Yes. It was only a few weeks ago." Angie whispered. "She tried to come to work for a while, but I think there were just too many memories here for her. She's taken a little time off to visit her sister in Jubilife."

"I feel so bad for her." I said sadly. "John was such a nice man. I'll really miss him."

"She left me and Stephen in charge for a while, and we're doing fine, but I don't really want to work this many hours." Angie looked up at me questionably. "Mary already sent in the papers. The deed to this place is in your name now. It's yours."

I was shocked. "What?" _Could that really be true? Aren't there papers I'm supposed to sign first? Or something?_

"Yeah, somehow she got it all arranged. So, you need to hurry up and get back here as soon as you get done with the league. But that won't be long right?"

"Well, no but…" I couldn't answer, only think. _The day-care center is mine now, and I'm not even sure if I'm going to be running it._ I looked back at Kyle. _If he has other plans… then what will I do? I don't really want to give it up._

Angie looked concerned. "You will come back right? We need you here. I'm not so good with handling the finances and such. Not to mention people have been pleading for your poffins." She looked down. "I can't do that either."

"Hey don't worry." I placed one hand on Angie's shoulder. "You've done great work here from what I've seen. You got Stephen in line, which is a miracle in itself. I'll be sure to keep you hired on when I come back."

"Really?" She beamed. "Thanks Shonna. You're not so bad. I think I'll like you being my new boss." She skipped back inside the center. "See you after the league!"

"Yeah." I sighed, turning back to Kyle and Pichu. "After the league."

**x-x-x**

"Mom! We're here!" I called out through the house. There was no answer. I glanced back at Kyle who was looking at his shoulder somewhat longingly. "I think you miss Pichu more than you let on." I sneered.

"Yeah." He looked a little embarrassed. "I like the little guy."

"Doesn't look like mom's home from work yet." I took a seat on the couch, plopping down into it. "I called her while we were in Celestic Town though, so she should know we're coming."

"Speaking of phones. What was up with that one call earlier?" Kyle sat down beside me, looking a little annoyed.

"Ah." I cringed. "That was Travis. He worked at the day-care center for a while a couple years back."

"I remember him. I fought him in the Johto league. I beat him bad in battle because he bragged to me that if he won, he'd get you as his girlfriend."

"He did?" I scooted back in the couch a bit. "Umm… well the deal was actually a little different." I laughed nervously. "Don't worry though. He tried his hand at me, but I wouldn't have anything to do with him or Stephen. I was too hung up on you."

"Yeah?" Kyle leaned back. "How is it I always find you in such weird situations with guys all the time?"

I hung my head as mom walked in, looking exhausted. When she looked up and saw us, she looked surprised. "Oh! Is that today?"

"Yes mom."

"Shoot. I forgot." She ran up to us, her high heels clanging. "Ah, and the boyfriend's here too?"

"Yo." Kyle smiled, waving.

"Yeah." I leaned over the back of the couch. "We're staying here tonight. Remember?"

"Oh yeah." She glared at Kyle. "But he stays on the couch. You hear me?"

Kyle and I just turned to look at each other and nodded.

"Good." Mom stomped off, trying to add to her feigned strictness. "Goodnight then."

"She must be really tired. Didn't even offer any food." I slid back down on the couch. "Good thing we stopped to get something to eat before we came."

"Yep." Kyle said quietly, getting comfortable on the couch.

"Goodnight." I smiled, hustling up the stairs to my room. I changed quickly into some pajamas, and flopped down on the bed. It felt comfortable, and I'd longed for my own bed for a long time, but I found myself rolling around a lot. I sighed, gathering up my pillow and cover, and hauled them back downstairs. Kyle stared back at me with a smirk.

"That didn't take long." He yawned.

"I can't stand being away from you." I admitted, curling up on the couch beside him. "Besides, mom said you had to stay on the couch, but she didn't say anything about me."

"I can't say I mind." He wrapped his arms around me as I pulled the blanket over us. "So are we headed out for Sunyshore tomorrow?"

"Sounds fine."

"It's a plan then." Kyle kissed my forehead. "Goodnight Angel."

"Goodnight Kyle." We would leave for Sunyshore tomorrow, to get our last badge, but I wanted to stop and see someone before we did.


	51. The Visiting Hours!

**x-x-x**

Episode 50: The Visiting Hours!

After a firm scolding that woke us up that morning, and mom screaming us out of the house for being curled up on the couch together, Kyle and I took off on his bike for the beautiful city of Sunyshore. I had tried to call out for Aerodactyl, but she must have been napping or just didn't care to come. I'd always had difficulty training her, which meant no flying for us. But I didn't mind. I actually enjoyed holding on to Kyle as we sped down the roads, jamming out to the radio. But once we reached Veilstone City, I poked him and asked him to stop.

"What's up?" Kyle asked, pulling the bike into park by the Veilstone Police. "Why'd you want to stop here?"

"There's someone here I want to see." I answered seriously.

He wasn't catching on. "Officer Jenny?"

"Nope." I smiled slightly. "My father."

I watched as Kyle packed away his bike into its tiny storage case. The same technology used in pokeballs and item holders applied to it, and it never ceased to amaze me. Kyle jerked his head up to look up at me. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Not exactly. But it sort of bothers me. So I wanted to try and talk to him." I walked up the steps to the police station, making the doors slide behind me. We walked inside, and a receptionist led us to the rear of the huge building. This is where the cells were. She'd called ahead and had him waiting in the visitor's room. We were headed that way when the woman turned back to us.

"So, you say your family?" She asked.

"Yes." I answered. "I am."

"Okay. He hasn't had any visitors that I know of, so this will be a real treat for him." She shrugged. "I guess anyway." She opened the door slowly. "Just go on in. There's a Jenny standing guard inside."

"Thanks." Kyle held the door open as I walked on inside.

The short old man was turned away from me as we walked in. He was facing the officer and screaming at her from the other end of the wooden table.

Jenny scowled at him. "Take your seat sir or I'll be forced to revoke your visiting hours."

"What does it matter anyway?" He yelled. "I have no family. This is all some joke."

Jenny looked up to me as I took a seat at one end of the table. "They're here now."

He turned, and his eyebrows raised as he saw me. His small round glasses nearly fell off his face. "Ve-Venus?" He stuttered.

"Wrong again." I glowered.

He cringed. "Then who are you?" He took a seat across from me. "I met you once before, you accursed look-a-like."

I sighed, slumping in the chair. I briefly looked back at Kyle, who stood behind me silently. _Maybe he was right, maybe this was a bad idea. But, I had some things to say to this man. _I turned back around. "What may I call you?"

"You're not family, so why should I tell you?" He crossed his arms. When I made no reply, he continued. "I'm Dr. Pluto. And how about you? Who are you? And why do you insist on annoying me until my demise?"

"Pluto." I clinched my fists. "I refuse to call you that name. That awful name that Cyrus gave you. You old fool! Are you really still so hung up on Team Galactic that you won't even tell me your real name?"

"You first." He sneered.

"You know what?" I smiled back. "I think I'll just call you what you are… Dad."

His eyebrows furrowed now. "What did you say?"

"You heard me." I looked up at him. "Venus as you call her, is my mother. And that makes you…" I turned away.

"Impossible." He scooted back in his chair some.

"It is, actually possible." I whispered. "I'm seventeen now. You do the math."

"She left at around that time." He looked up to the ceiling now. "But still, it can't be."

"It's true." I glared across the table to him once more. "I don't like it anymore than you do, but it is still true. She left you to try and make a better life with me. And you wouldn't join her."

"She abandoned the mission! She left our team!" He screamed.

Kyle spoke up now. "And look where your 'team' got you. Right into penitentiary."

"And who are you?" Pluto asked with a scowl.

"He's my boyfriend Dad." I crossed my arms now. "You missed a lot of my life during the time you spent torturing pokemon. How could you do that? Have they ever done anything to you?"

"Did you just come here to chew me out?" He stood up. "Because if so, I'm leaving. I don't have to hear this!"

"Actually I did!" I stood up as well, leaning over the table. "Someone has to be a voice for all those pokemon you murdered!"

Something like pain did seem to strike Pluto. He frowned, and turned away. "So, you're really my daughter? And you're the one that put me in prison." He laughed slightly. "How ironic."

"Don't you even feel bad for what you've done?" I asked quietly.

"Actually, I sort of do. Another twist of fate." He stared at me from the corner of his eye. "So, what's your name?"

"Shonna."

"Shonna and Donna." He laughed. "She gave you a similar name, and apparently all off her genes."

"Thank goodness." Kyle muttered. "If she looked anything like you…"

"How rude." He grinned. "But I don't just mean appearance. She's got a good heart. Venus had that too. I just drug her into the wrong place. What a bad influence I was."

I looked down at the wood grain of the table, feeling drained.

Kyle took a step forward. "Between you and Cyrus, you're both the worst kind of scum."

"Indeed." Pluto snickered. "But are you any better, boyfriend? Might you be leading my daughter into the worst kind of danger as well?"

"What?" Kyle stepped forward even more, making Jenny come closer. "What do you mean by that old man?"

"Oh don't mind me." He slinked away, toward the holding cells. "It was merely the ramblings of an old scientist. Although I must say, my observations are rarely wrong." He took one final look at me, before leaving the room.

"Stupid." I groaned. "Just ignore him Kyle. He's just trying to get on my nerves. Not that I needed any other reasons to hate him."

Kyle was quiet for a moment, before sighing. "What if he's right?"

"What?"

"What if I'm putting you in danger? By dating me… you've become a target for Ricky's revenge on me." He said quietly.

My heart ached a little from his tone. It almost sounded like he regretted it. "Kyle." I took his hand in mine. "I wouldn't change a thing, would you?"

He smiled sadly, turning to meet my gaze. "No, but I still worry about you."

"I'll do anything to be with you." I squeezed his hand a little. "No matter what the risk." I saw him smile a little brighter at this. "Now let's get out of this place."

**x-x-x**

Dr. Pluto laid motionlessly in his cell's bed. An Officer Jenny walked by; stopping to make sure everything was in order in every cell. He stared up at the ceiling thinking about his strange visitor he'd met with only moments ago. She could have passed as Venus's twin, or clone. This reminded him of a cloning experiment he'd once performed for Cyrus. One memory after another flooded his mind. He smiled, closing his eyes and allowing the flashbacks to come.

_Venus stared back at him with her deep blue eyes, her long blond hair waving behind her. The fan in the small laboratory was brushing through even his thinning purple tinted hair. A strand flew by with a white hue. He was quickly graying as well._

"_This work you do. It's not good for your health Charon." Venus scooted forward in the rolling chair. "You look ten years older than you are."_

"_You're correct there." He began the pokemon necropsy, ignoring her turning away from the sight and cutting into the specimen. "Perhaps I'll develop a hair growth formula out of one of these experiments someday."_

"_Quit being so snide." She was angry at his remark. "Those pokemon should never be turned into something so trivial. They're for science." She sighed. "Or at least, I keep telling myself that."_

"_They are." Pluto worked feverishly, trying to finish the procedure. "Don't make me out to be the bad guy here. Don't forget you're out there with Cyrus everyday, capturing pokemon for these experiments. Just because you're the trainer, doesn't mean you're any better."_

_She grit her teeth, looking like she wanted to say something but couldn't. He could see tears form in the corner of her blue eyes. "You're not like you used to be. When we first got married, you used to care about the pokemon you'd experiment on. Now if they die, it's no big deal to you."_

"_After so many, you get desensitized to it." He cut the scalpel deep into the specimen's stomach. "Computer. Log this for #324. Time of death, May 14. Approximately 12:40 a.m. Cause of death, chemicals in stomach cavity lacerated the lining. Internal bleeding occurred._

"_Noted." The voice recognition lit up on the monitor, recording the data._

_Venus stood up, wrapping her slender fingers around her only pokeball, a Clefable she adored. "I'm tired of living like this Pluto. I want out."_

"_Shut up." Pluto glared. "Don't say such things here. You know he has surveillance installed now. If Cyrus heard you say that…"_

"_Let him come." Venus placed the pokeball back on the belt of her galactic suit. "I'm not afraid of him."_

_Pluto gasped a little, because he was indeed, afraid of him. "Fine. Say what you want, but not around me. I don't want him thinking I abandoned the mission. I'm still loyal". He said this directly into the camera that loomed above._

"_You're an idiot Charon." Tears began running down her cheek as she turned toward him. Immediately after seeing the pokemon on the table in front of him, she clutched her stomach and turned away as if she might vomit._

_Anger welled up in him. She continued to distract him. "What do you want me to do Donna?" He snapped._

_She continued to hold a hand over her stomach as she stood up a little straighter. "I want… you to leave. Come with me, and let's get out of this place."_

"_You're talking crazy." Pluto glanced up at the panning camera once more._

"_Charon!" She screamed. "You've got more than yourself that you need to consider here!"_

"_And just what is that supposed to mean?" He asked, baffled._

"_Will you leave with me?" She asked, walking toward the door._

"_No." He said coldly._

"_Then goodbye." She touched her hand to the DNA recognition panel, and jerked it back when the tiny needle withdrew from it._

_He watched her walk right out that door, though she had to sneak out of the rest of them. Within minutes, a screen popped up on his computer, with Cyrus's angry face._

"_Pluto! Where is your idiotic wife? She set off the security breaches in the east wing. What is she up to?"_

"_I don't know sir." Pluto hung his head. "She's left."_

"_What?" Cyrus roared. "Where?"_

"_She didn't say." Pluto glanced up, nearly jumping at the sight of Cyrus's wild expression._

"_Fool!" Cyrus glowered. "This insolence will cost you dearly!" The screen clicked off, returning him to his normal work screen._

_Pluto sighed, wondering how far she would make it._

"Prisoner." Officer Jenny interrupted his thoughts.

"What?" He barked. "Another annoying visitor?" He silently wished it was.

"No. Just dinnertime." Officer Jenny slid a plate of food under a slot in the metal grating, much like he had done for numerous pokemon in the cages of his lab in the past.

"Prison sure isn't very social. I thought there'd at least be more amenities than this."

Officer Jenny laughed. "Oh there is. Most of the prisoner's get to eat in a cafeteria. But you're a special case. My boss seems to think that we should be extra careful with you. Being an evil genius and all. We don't want you plotting an escape."

He picked up the tray of not very appetizing food and sat on the edge of his bed. "Evil genius? Is that what they're calling me now?"

"I think you deserve this kind of treatment, for the things you put all those pokemon through." Officer Jenny just scoffed and walked away.

Pluto smiled, stuffing the stale bread down his throat. "You're right. For that, and my family too."


	52. Poffins on the Sunny Side!

**x-x-x**

Episode 51: Poffins on the Sunny Side!

I glanced back only once at the Veilstone Prison as we sped off on Kyle's bike. I wrapped my arms around him as I always do, but without Buneary, I felt a little lonely. It was more fun with a pokemon in tow. Like buneary, and like Pichu back in Kanto.

Kyle kept me company by talking to me along the way. I told him about how I'd fought the gym leader in this city before he had accompanied me, and how I'd lost. I also told him how beautiful the city was, and that he would like it. He agreed that after seeing all the snow we'd been stuck in during our weeks at Mt. Coronet and Snowpoint, he was in need of a city where the sun always shines, and the roads are brightly lit solar panels.

I watched the landscape fly by on the bike as we drove along. Lake Valor loomed in the distance, and now, a bridge to Sunyshore was within sight. But standing up in front of it, was a blockade of construction signs and cones. Kyle pulled to a stop beside it, as a man in a hard hat approached.

"What's going on?" Kyle asked the man, looking down at him from atop his massive bike.

"Sorry. This bridge is closed. It'll be open in, oh I'd say another month or two."

"A month?" Kyle asked shocked.

"Or two?" I repeated.

"Well yeah. We had to totally rebuild it since that explosion at Lake Valor. It's not quite ready yet."

"Is there any other way to Sunyshore?" I asked.

"Oh sure." The man pointed to the ocean. "Most trainers have been surfing over, or you could always fly if you have a flying type."

"I didn't bring Gyarados or Pidgeot." Kyle stated. "I'd have to go back for a PC."

"Staraptor's really not keen on carrying us both, Pal-." I stopped myself. "My water type's still too unpredictable, and Aerodactyl's too far away to call out for."

"There's also a boat." The construction worker pointed to a nearby port. "But it just left, and isn't due back for hours."

Kyle scowled a little. "That's really our only choices?"

"Yep. Sorry." The man wandered off, back to work.

"This stinks." I hung my head. "I was really hoping we could see Sunyshore before nightfall."

A rustling in the nearby forest startled us. Just to the left of the bridge, was thick shrubbery. I gasped a little when I saw the man's figure step through the shadows, and his bright red hair. But I relaxed when I saw his hair arranged in an afro, and he had cool gray eyes.

"Hey! You guys looking for a quick way to Sunyshore?" The red-headed man called out.

"Yes actually." Kyle replied. "You know of a way?"

"Yes!" He answered. "But, it's a rocky path. It will require the use of some pokemon who can handle the terrain. You two are trainers right?"

"Yeah!" I yelled, stepping off Kyle's bike as he packed it up. "We are. And I'm sure we have pokemon skilled enough for any kind of climb."

Now the guy eyed me strangely. "Hey…" He stepped forward. "Have we met before?"

"What?" I stepped back a bit in surprise. "Umm no. I don't think so."

"Oh good grief." Kyle groaned as he snapped the capsule case for his bike shut. "Not another guy who thinks he's your boyfriend."

"It's not like that!" I held my hands in defense as the man walked casually up to us. "I don't know this guy, I swear." Even as I said it though, the afro did seem vaguely familiar.

"Yeah! I remember you. Boy, you sure have grown up since then though. Nice to see you again, Ms. Kanto Semifinalist." He held out his hand in a motion to shake. "I'm Flint. Remember?"

I shook hands with him out of politeness, though I couldn't recall. Then, it hit me. "Oh! You were there the last time I fought Volkner. You left before I battled him. I wouldn't have remembered if it wasn't for the hairstyle though."

"Hey!" He chuckled. "Don't rag on the hair. It's cool." He fluffed it up with his hands as he said this.

"Sure." I laughed. "So, you say you know a way to Sunyshore?"

"Yeah. I use it all the time, but it's kind of a secret, so don't tell." He looked at both of us as he said this. "Just follow me." Flint led us through a trail in the forest, eventually stopping at a rocky cliff side. "Here's the reason most of the general public can't get through this way. You sure you two can handle it?" He turned around, releasing a blazing red Rapidash. "You have to have a good climber of a pokemon."

"Hmph." I huffed. "Sure. Why not?" I let out my blue Rapidash, which made Flint's eye's widen.

"A shiny fire type!" He rushed up to it. "I've never seen one in person. If I'd known you had that, I would have stuck around to watch your battle." He grinned, composing himself. "See, I love fire-type pokemon. I specialize in them."

"Really?" Kyle asked, reaching for the pokeball around his neck. "You'll love this then." He released Arcanine.

"Oh!" Flint now ran up to Arcanine. "He's beautiful. I can tell you take great care of him."

"Arf!" Arcanine nodded in agreement.

"I try." Kyle smiled.

"Kyle likes fire types too!" I pointed out. "He has other types, but fire's his favorite."

"Oh really?" Flint took a good look at us. "I recognize you two now. You're the one's on tv all the time. Kyle and Shonna. The pokemon master and his somewhat good girlfriend?"

I bit my tongue at my demeaning title. "Uh… yeah."

"She's just as good as me." Kyle commented.

I blushed, looking away. "Not really."

"Either way," Flint hopped on his steed. "You two just might be what Volkner needs to get back into battling."

I crossed my arms. "Is that dude still moping about how boring battles are to him?"

"He is." Flint laughed. "He's even talking about quitting his gym. But if he fights a pokemon master, perhaps…"

I hopped on my Rapidash, tired of talking about how whiney Volkner was.

"I'll give it a shot." Kyle spoke up, while hopping on Arcanine. "Show us the way."

"Here's a proposition. How about a race?" Flint held a gleam in his eye.

"A race?" I looked up at the tiny rock ledges we'd have to scale. "Okay!"

"I don't know." Kyle turned to me. "I think you'd better take your time Shonna."

"Have a little faith Kyle. I'll be fine." I grinned. "You count it down Flint."

"Well okay." He smiled as each of us took a position at the base of the cliff. "Three, two, one!" With that, he bounded up the cliff to its very first pedestal. Arcanine sprang up to a small ledge that looked impossibly too small for him to stand on, but somehow he was standing, and he and Flint continued up the outcropping with ease.

"Move it Rapidash!" I screamed, pointing to the nearest ledge. He leaped up to it with ease, and stared back at me for confirmation on where to go next. By this point, Kyle and Flint had already scaled half the cliff. "Shoot. We've got to hurry. No time to stop and think about it." I pointed up to the next ledge, and the next, wildly pointing any direction where I saw a ledge jutting out. I glanced up now from the halfway point to see Flint and Kyle neck and neck at the top of the cliff. One more leap, and the victor would be decided. They glanced over at each other from their ledges, and grinned. They were obviously loving the competition. "There's no beating them now." I mumbled, letting my finger drop. Rapidash looked up to me, then to the small ledge I was now unintentionally pointing to.

"Brr." He looked questionable, but leaped across.

"What? No!" I pulled back on him to try and stop him, but it was too late. He brought his hoofs down onto a tiny and unstable ledge. It crumbled beneath him, making us both plummet. Rapidash somehow flipped over me, and I knew if we landed, I'd be crushed. All I could see was his silver flamed body above me as we fell, so I reached around to grab his pokeball. It would save him from falling, and me a fatal crushing blow. When I recalled him, and the light dissipated, I could see Kyle and Arcanine running down the cliff sideways, extreme speed in use. They looked more like an orange blur as they sped past me, and scooped me up just before impact. Arcanine slid on the dirt, coming to a stop with his claws. I opened my eyes, seeing Kyle holding me tight from atop Arcanine's back.

"Arf! Arf!" Arcanine barked, turning his head to look at me.

"He says you need to be more careful." Kyle said sternly, but with a smile.

I looked up to the top of the cliff, spying Flint and his Rapidash peering over the top.

"You okay down there?" He yelled.

"Yeah!" I yelled back, then lowered my voice. "Sorry for making you lose Kyle."

"It's alright." He brushed back some of my hair with his fingers. "As long as you're safe."

"Sorry about that!" Flint called out. "I guess the race was a bad idea. I didn't know your girlfriend was such a klutz!"

I hung my head in embarrassment.

"Ah well." Flint shrugged. "Take your time coming on up here. We'll call it a draw this time."

"Really?" I asked, feeling satisfied.

"Between me and Kyle!" Flint laughed. "You lost horribly."

Again I hung my head. I didn't even bother lifting it up as Arcanine gracefully leaped up ledges, and even when he reached the top. But I did notice grass below us now, instead of rock.

"Hey Shonna. Look!" Kyle lifted my head up with a finger. "You'll love this."

Before me stood a beautiful spring in the middle of the forest. A cavern sat in the back, and the water was crystal clear blue. Wild Bibarel and Golduck were splashing about, and a chimecho fluttered right by me, startling but amazing me at the same time. "This place is beautiful." I whispered.

"Yep." Flint smiled at the sight, before trotting forward on his Rapidash. "This place is called Sendoff Spring, and it is pretty much untouched by human hands. Another reason I'd like to keep this route a secret.

"You can trust us." Kyle nodded. "We won't mention it to anyone."

"Right." I nodded as well, watching as a chingling zoomed overhead. Arcanine followed slowly behind as we walked a little further. Just past the spring, was an area overlooking Sunyshore City. Sure enough, we were almost there.

"Like I said, the city's right down there." Flint smiled, looking out toward the view.

Sunyshore City was beautiful. Just like the last time I was here, it was covered in sunlight. It reflected on the roads, and the white sands of the nearby beaches. And the light even gleamed on the side of the lighthouse. As compared to my home in Solaceon Town, this place was totally different. There were new sights to take in, new sounds, and… new smells.

"Do you smell that?" I asked, lifting my nose to the air.

Flint glanced over at me strangely. "Don't look at me."

Kyle chuckled, trying to hold in a laugh.

"Not like that!" I yelled. "Something good. And familiar, something smells like poffins."

"Oh yeah." Flint laughed. "They're having a poffin making contest here today. I remember Volkner mentioning something about it."

"That sounds right up your alley Shonna." Kyle hugged me closer to him. "You gonna enter?"

"I don't know…" I blushed. "I'm not all that great."

"Have a little faith." He winked. "I know you could beat them."

"Well, alright then!" I pointed forward toward the city. "Let's get going then!" With that, Arcanine and Rapidash charged forward, heading down the hill, and into the bright city. Arcanine easily sniffed his way straight to the Sunyshore Market, where the contest was being held. I looked up at the balloons that bordered the place, then back down to a portly man who stood at the entrance.

"Welcome! Welcome to the Poffin Contest!" The fat balding man announced. "I'm the foreman, Mr. Poffin himself. Owner and creator of Grandma P.'s Poffins! I'm sure you've heard of me."

I glanced over to a shelf of boxed poffins with the Grandma P.'s recipe. _I had always assumed it was the work of an old lady. But now…_

Flint looked at them strangely. "I've seen those in pokemarts all over. You made those?"

"Indeed!" Mr. Poffin bragged. "It's my award winning recipe."

Kyle raised an eyebrow at this. "If it's yours, shouldn't you be the mascot, instead of some made up old lady?"

"Well." Mr. Poffin paused. "As hard as it is to believe, my devilish good looks didn't go over well on the boxes, so we changed it over before they were mass produced."

Flint chuckled, sliding off his Rapidash. "Well that makes sense."

"Umm…" I coughed, sliding down Arcanine's back as both men behind me recalled their pokemon. "Is there still time to register, Mr. Poffin?"

"Oh sure." He smirked. "If you feel you're up to the challenge. Right this way Miss."

I followed him to a nearby tent, with Flint and Kyle close behind. Mr. Poffin positioned himself behind a counter, and pushed a clipboard with names on it my way, along with a pen.

"Most of the other contestants have already found their tent with their stoves and poffin pots. You'll be number 12. I'm sure you'll find everything you need there, and feel free to use any of the fresh berries from the market. You can of course, use any other secret ingredients you may have as well." Mr. Poffin continued to explain. "Also, I've added something new this year. You may have one pokemon helper to assist you in making the poffins."

"Really?" I looked up from filling out my form.

"Yes."

"Awesome." I reached into my purse for Lucario's pokeball, holding it close. "I'm going to go get set up then! See you guys later!" With that, I ran off to my station, labeled number 12.

"Silly girl." Kyle smiled. "She doesn't even know what she's competing for."

"Ah yes." Mr. Poffin grinned. "The winner receives a years supply of pokemon food, and a 5000 pokedollar shopping spree at the Sunyshore Market."

"Hmph." He smiled. "Sounds like something she'd like. So who's judging this competition? You?"

"Heavens no." Mr. Poffin stated. "I have a special team of pokemon trained to recognize exquisite culinary skills. Their palates are unmatched."

"That sounds fair." Flint nodded. "We are dealing with pokemon here. It's only fair that they be the ones to judge a snack for pokemon."

Mr. Poffin smiled in agreement. "Of course. In fact, they all find my own recipe to be quite delectable, further proving their skill." He motioned to a board of rather stiff looking pokemon behind him, waiting impatiently.

"Oh really?" Kyle put one hand up to his chin in thought. "Have you ever met a pokemon who didn't like your poffins?"

Mr. Poffin looked shocked at the very thought. "Certainly not!"

"Well, I have a pokemon with me, that to my knowledge, likes no forms of food with the exception of one thing."

Flint eyed Kyle questionably. "That being?"

"Pond scum." Kyle grinned.

"Pond Scum?" Mr. Poffin jumped back a bit by the statement.

"Yep. My Kabutops won't touch a thing other than dirty weeds and grasses from the bottom of lakes and ponds. He's never even tried a poffin, so I don't know how he'd take it."

"Hmm…" Mr. Poffin rushed over to a box of his specialty, pouring out one into his hand. "Well I'm up to the challenge."

Kyle tossed the pokeball off his belt, letting Kabutops out.

"Bu-bu tops!" Kabutops ran up to hug Kyle, slicing a tear into his jeans.

"Watch the arms buddy!" Kyle pushed him back by his shoulders gently.

"Buto." Kabutops pulled one arm behind him, looking a bit embarrassed.

Flint and Mr. Poffin just stared down at him strangely.

"Umm.. here." Mr. Poffin handed him the poffin carefully, dropping it onto one of Kabutop's scythe-like arms.

"Bu buto?"

Kyle smiled at him. "Try it."

"Bu!" He flipped it up into the air, catching it in his mouth. He chewed, and looked contemplative for a moment, before spitting it up all over the ground. "Bu! Bu!"

"Unbelievable!" Mr. Poffin cried. "Obviously this pokemon has no sense of taste."

"Perhaps," Kyle laughed. "But I have a request. May he sit in as a guest judge? Think about it. If any of the contestants are able to make a poffin that pleases him, it should prove that they have real talent."

Mr. Poffin just stared at him and the Kabutops for a moment. "Fine. But don't let him slice up my tent or anything." He watched as Kabutops waddled over to the other pokemon, attempting to give them a hug. "Or the other judges!"

Kyle cracked up watching the judging pokemon scoot far away. "Will do."

"Hey Kyle." Flint whispered. "What are you doing? Trying to score bonus points for Shonna?"

"Nope." Kyle whispered back. "As I said, he's never tried a poffin. Not even Shonna's."

"I don't understand then. Why would you add another judge onto the panel? One that doesn't even like poffins!"

Kyle just smiled and crossed his arms. "I wouldn't do it if I didn't know Shonna wasn't up for the challenge. She may not be much in a cliff race, but no one's better at this poffin stuff than her."

"Pretty confident." Flint crossed his arms now, copying him. "Are you going to be that confident in her when you fight her in the league competition?"

Kyle glanced up with the same smile. "She's a good battler too you know. You'd better look out when you have to battle her."

Flint looked surprised, then relaxed. "Figured me out eh?"

"You specialize in fire types, but you're not a gym leader. You're friends with the strongest one in the region, and also the one who resides closest to the league itself. Even if I hadn't done a little research on the elite four before I came here, it wouldn't have been too hard to figure out."

"You are cunning my friend." Flint smiled a goofy smile. "But wait, by you saying that I'd have to fight her, you're implying that she'll make it to the elite four."

Kyle turned away, still holding a smile. "As I said, she's a good battler."

**x-x-x**

I worked feverishly on the poffins, stirring and churning away at the batter. I glanced over to Lucario who was ready with the pan beside me.

"Thanks for helping me." I said softly.

"_No prob. I know you need it."_

"I do. You're my best helper. I'm glad you can be with me." I chuckled. "Help keep my head on straight."

"_Don't be so nervous."_ Lucario put on paw on my shoulder. _"You're going to do great mom."_

"And now, I have one final ingredient to add." I used one hand to continue stirring, and the other to reach into my purse for the jar of honey I'd received from that scary vespiquen.

Lucario pulled his paw away. _"Isn't it a bit risky to be trying out new recipes in the middle of a contest?"_

"I know I've never tried it in a poffin, but I think it will work out perfectly. If not, well then my judgment was terrible and you can make me regret for as long as you'd like."

"_I wouldn't do that!"_ He laughed_. "But I would say I told you so."_

"Then you can do that too." I smiled, pouring in the jar of honey, and stirring it until it was mixed in thoroughly. "Alright." I slowly poured an equal amount into each mold, and let Lucario place it into the oven. "Now comes the waiting game. Ten minutes should be just about time before the judging starts."

"How's it going over there Miss Semifinalist?" I heard Flint call out. Kyle was walking behind him.

"It's about time you guys came over and spoke to me!" I leaned against the counter, watching Kyle come closer. "And I'll have you know, I won't be a semifinalist this time around Flint."

"Is that a fact?" He smiled, glancing over to Kyle. "Well good. You don't want to make your boyfriend's surprise go to waste." He chuckled, but Kyle glared at him, elbowing him hard in the side. "Ouch. I mean, uh… yeah."

"What kind of cover is that?" Kyle groaned.

"Sorry!" Flint whispered. "It just slipped."

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked, baffled. "What surprise?"

"Ah! I got it!" Flint grinned. "Kyle managed to get one of his pokemon on the judging panel. That's your surprise!"

"Oh is that all?" I asked, a little disappointed. "Wait that's like cheating! All of your pokemon that have tried my poffins love them."

"Trust me." Kyle winked. "This one hasn't. But don't worry. You'll do great."

Flint laughed nervously. "Yeah so, the judging's going to start soon. We'll be waiting on you there." He and Kyle hustled back to the entrance, with Kyle still glaring, and Flint still looking apologetic.

"Why do I get the feeling there's something I don't know?" I turned to Lucario. "Hey! Did you happen to invade Kyle's mind back there and find out what that was about? Or maybe Flint's?

"_I can't get inside a total stranger's head! Sometimes I'm able to see pieces of Kyle's, just because we've been traveling with him so long, but nothing then. Sorry."_

"It's okay." I sighed. "But I hate surprises." I held up Lucario's pokeball to recall him, and peered into the oven. "Wish me luck."

**x-x-x**

I watched in horror as the previous contestants got bashed by the panel of pokemon judges. And Kyle's Kabutops wouldn't have anything to do with them. After the 7th one, he acted like he didn't even want to put anymore into his mouth, but he pressed on. _For the life of me, I couldn't understand why Kyle would insist on putting his picky eater of a pokemon onto the judge's table. Was he trying to make me lose?_

I felt very nervous when the tenth contestant rolled around, and so far only one girl had made anything that would even get a satisfied nod out of the judging pokemon.

I gulped as the last plate of pink poffins made their way to the stage. They were mine. And all the pokemon took one and munched away at it. The original four pokemon judges eyes all widened suddenly, and I prayed it wasn't in disgust. Two of them jumped up and down in delight, and the other two smiled, trying not to show that they were secretly looking for more crumbs.

Then, there was Kabutops. He sat there chewing and looking stoic for a solid minute, when suddenly, he lifted his sharp metal arms up to the air.

"Bu-butop!" He gulped down his poffin, with a wide grin on his face.

My eyes widened as I saw Mr. Poffin stare at him stunned. Kabutops approached me, as if he were going to run up and hug me for the treat, but in the corner of my eye, I saw Kyle hold up his pokeball and recall him.

"Guess that settles that." Mr. Poffin eyebrows raised as the pokemon cheered in an uproar for more. "We have a winner folks! Ms…" He then checked his clipboard with the contestant roster. "Ms. Dotson is the winner of this year's supply of pokekibble, and the 5000 pokedollar shopping spree at our local market."

I was sure my eyes lit up then. "That's what I won?"

Mr. Poffin smiled from the stage. "Why don't you come up here?" He held out his hand, helping me climb up. When I did, the small crowd that had turned out, and even the other contestants applauded.

"Yeah! Go Shonna!" I heard Kyle cheer, embarrassing me a little. I had a annoying habit of blushing intensely, anytime something like this happened, and I could feel it coming on.

"Look!" Flint yelled. "She's turning more red than my hair!"

"Oh!" I turned away, trying to ignore them as Mr. Poffin handed me a gift card for the Sunyshore Market shops.

"Would you like me to send the pokemon food to your pc?" He asked.

"That would be fine." I glanced up, nodding slightly.

"Alright!" Mr. Poffin turned to the crowd. "We had a good turnout this year, but let's try and make it even better next year! Thanks folks! And remember to buy Grandma P.'s Famous Poffins!" As the crowd began to thin, he turned back to me. "Kid, you've really got something going with that recipe of yours. I've never seen a poffin that every single one of my judges likes."

"Well," I looked away, feeling modest again. "The reason is, that I've worked real hard to make a poffin that every type of pokemon can enjoy. I finally got it to where all of mine do, and eventually… everyone else's."

"Astounding." He leaned forward in amazement. "Have you ever considered making profit off of them?"

"Well, when I'm around, I sell them in my hometown."

"That's not what I mean!" He shook his head in disgust. "I mean mass production! Factory lines! The big time! Look, putting it to you plainly, I'd like you to sell your recipe to me."

"What?" I stood stunned, and watched as the crowd thinned to just Kyle and Flint waiting. "Umm, sir, I'm honored, but…"

"But?"

"But, I won't. It's a local specialty back home, and I don't want to sell it. Sorry."

He frowned. "You're missing a big opportunity here."

"Perhaps. But I won't change my mind."

"Fine." He turned away. "I'll just have to work on trying to make my own recipe that pleases every type then."

This made me smile. "Good luck Mr. Poffin."

"I'll send you the food via pc. You may go now." He waddled off, looking deep in thought as he sniffed a tiny crumb left from my plate of poffins.

I chuckled to myself as I crossed the stage. Kyle was waiting and caught me as I hopped down.

"Well well!" Flint smirked. "I guess you were right. You sure showed you're not a semifinalist here."

"Nope!" I smiled happily as Kyle gave me a quick kiss.

"You did great." He said sweetly. "I knew you'd mop the floor with these guys."

"It was mainly girls." I corrected. "And I only won because I had a great helper." I glanced down into my purse, wondering if Lucario could hear me.

"You still won." Kyle said, twirling me around. "And you're going to keep winning from here on out."

"You think so?" I freed myself from him, feeling a little dizzy. "My next fight is with Volkner, and the last time I fought him, I lost horribly."

"Volkner's known as the toughest gym leader in Sinnoh." Flint commented. "You both have to fight him right?"

"Right." Kyle nodded.

"Well that's great." Flint glanced over to the gym high up on a hill in the city. Volkner by now had the place looking like a power plant, which was kind of intimidating. "Volkner's like my best friend, and rival. But, he hasn't been himself. For the past few years, he's been dissatisfied with being a gym leader. He says it's because he hasn't had a challenge, but I wonder."

"Why would he complain?" Kyle crossed his arms. "He's got one of the best jobs ever. And now you're saying he acts like he wants out?"

"More than that." Flint turned back to us. "He's even been saying lately that he wants to go out and try for the Sinnoh league."

"What?" I blanched. "He sounds even worse than when I fought him."

"Yeah." Flint sighed. "Everyday he gets even more bored with it. That's why I was hoping you two could go fight him. Surely one of you can give him an interesting battle."

I could tell Kyle was up to the challenge. He already had that typical fire in his eyes as he spoke. "Well I say we go give him a battle he won't soon forget!"

"Right now?" I whined. "But I…" I looked down at my gift card, and over to the market shops.

"Oh." Kyle smiled at me, not looking tense anymore. "Okay. We can battle him tomorrow. What will another day hurt?"

I beamed. "Thank you!"

Flint just laughed. "I'll head on up to the gym and let Volkner know you'll be there then. See you guys tomorrow." With that, he walked up the stairs to the rocky hill the gym sat on.

"Well angel?" Kyle held out his hand, facing the market. "Shall we?"

"We shall!" I took his hand and bolted forward, into the maze of vendors and shops.

**x-x-x**

We had a fun time shopping in the market. With my prize money, I was able to get a lot of supplies for the pokemon, plenty of fresh berries, and even purchased a couple seals to try out on their pokeballs.

Night fell quickly, and when we arrived at the pokemon center, I found that already a large sum of pokemon food had been deposited into my account. We headed on to bed as usual, but I was so nervous I was having trouble sleeping. I couldn't help but think about tomorrow.

_Volkner is really tough. Much tougher to beat than I think Kyle knows. But then again, he can beat anybody. Supposedly, the only time he's lost a battle, is with me. Though I think sometimes he just goes easy on me._

I rolled over, shoving my head into the pillow.

_What if I can't beat Volkner? Again. The pokemon league is only a month away now. That's not a lot of time. I guess, if I don't win tomorrow, I'll let Kyle go on and compete. I mean, he'll need that month to train, and not wait on my trying endlessly to get a gym badge._

I sighed, rolling over again, and feeling even more nervous. _I'm going to try my hardest though, because I want to battle with Kyle again. I want to give him an even better challenge in the league than I did in Kanto. He still claims that that was one of the roughest battles he's been in. _I grinned inwardly, and looked up to the top bunk above me. _I've got news for him. He hasn't seen anything yet!_


	53. The Tag Teams!

**x-x-x**

Episode 52: The Tag Teams!

I stood behind the heavy gym door, froze in place as Kyle opened it for me.

"Shonna?"

"Oh sorry." I stepped forward, snapping back to reality, and back to my anxiety setting in. I twisted my hair around my finger in nervousness as we walked down a long hallway that I didn't remember from the last time I was there.

Kyle swung open one more door to reveal the darkened gym. There were tons of sparking power nodes to light it up, but even in the bright morning, the place still seemed kind of scary.

"So you're finally here." A man's voice said from the other end. His bright spiked, and almost more yellow than blonde hair emerged in the dim light. "The pokemon master, come to challenge me. I'm glad you could make it." Volkner stepped forward and began clapping in a sarcastic way. The lights flipped on in the stadium suddenly. I could now plainly see Volkner standing cockily in front of us, and Flint waving from the back of the gym.

I glanced over at Kyle, who had locked glares with Volkner. "That's right Volkner. We're here to challenge you to a gym match today."

"As in, both of you?" Volkner now looked over to me. "Who's she?"

"You don't remember?" Flint yelled. "She's the Kanto semifinalist who you beat in battle once before."

He stared at me for a long time. "I don't recall."

"Really?" I hung my head, feeling irritated.

"Well, if I fought her before, I don't really see much point in me fighting her again."

"But you have to!" I whined.

Kyle stepped forward. "Neither of us are leaving until you battle both of us."

"Is that so?" Volkner gave him a bored stare and shrugged. "Very well. It will be your own misguidance though. If you trust that she can win too, let's make things a little more interesting."

Kyle frowned at this. "Yeah? I'm listening."

"Let's make this a double battle. That way if she makes you lose, it will go down on your supposed flawless record."

Kyle smirked now. "I have lost before, but it won't be to you."

"Is it a deal then?"

I turned to Kyle, awaiting his answer. I expected him to say no.

"Yes. Agreed. We'll double battle you."

"Are you sure Kyle?" I grabbed his arm, pulling him down to whisper. "What if he's right? What if I cause you to not get the badge?"

"Why would you? Don't you remember when we did this once before in Kanto? Against Sabrina? We beat her bad. And we'll do the same here." He kissed me on the forehead, then backed away. "That is, as long as you're confident."

"That's the problem." I mumbled. "I'm not."

Volkner turned to face us, and laughed. "I don't know what you two are babbling about, but you won't be facing just me, so don't think it will be so easy."

_He really is rather arrogant. _I thought to myself. "Wait!" I yelled out. "What do you mean by that?"

Volkner turned around from his side of the stage, looking to his friend behind him. "My good friend Flint will be fighting along side me."

"I will?" Flint laughed. "We haven't fought like that since we were kids. You must really be bored."

"Hold up!" I yelled again. "Is that even allowed?"

"Sure." Volkner turned to glare at me once more. "As I'm sure you're aware, he has all the qualifications. He'll be a challenge for you, don't worry about that." Volkner grinned. "Then again, what wouldn't be a challenge for you?"

I looked away, feeling glum.

"Enough. Stop bashing her." Kyle yelled. "Besides, we all know you're only saying that because you're intimidated by her. Someone like yourself should know a lot can change in three years."

Volkner remained silent.

"Ohhhh." Flint laughed. "He got you there."

Volkner smirked. "Whose side are you on?"

"Yours of course." Flint walked over to stand beside him, and readied a pokeball.

"The rules are a double battle." Volkner announced. "3 may be used by each trainer. Flint and I can not switch out."

"Sounds good to me." Flint tossed out his first pokemon. A cute little flareon bounced around the room.

"Flar! Flar-e!" It cried.

"How did I know you'd choose that?" Volkner reached around for a pokeball at his side, unveiling a jolteon with a strikingly different personality. It stood silent, glaring toward us.

"A couple eevee evolutions huh?" Kyle threw out the pokeball for Kabutops, and held his rocky head back as the thing tried to hug him once more.

It occurred to me then, that I had a horrible disadvantage here. _Lucario and Torterra would be terrible against fire types. Staraptor wouldn't fair well against either, and Palkia was still a secret that I was forced to never use in battle. That left me with two decent options. And decent was all you could say about it. Rapidash and Luxray would only be able to make an effective strike on one of the pair's pokemon._

"I should have switched them out some. Persian or Vaporeon would have been a big help." I grumbled, throwing out the pokeball for my gray flamed steed.

"Let the battle begin." Volkner grumbled.

"Flareon! Fire Spin!" Flint called out.

Fire Spin is normally a relatively weak attack, but Flint's flareon charged around our pokemon with incredible speed, closing the gap in the ring around them.

"Bounce out Rapidash!" Fire Spin wouldn't hurt him much anyway, but by bouncing up, he didn't take any damage. I watched as Flareon continued encircling Kabutops, but Kyle looked calm.

"Spin and use Water Pulse!" He commanded.

"Thunder Fang Jolteon!" Volkner grit his teeth, watching Kyle closely.

"Ka bububu!" Water began pouring out of Kabutops mouth, as it engaged in an almost flawless pirouette. _This pokemon never failed to surprise me._

"Flar!" Flareon backed off as the water struck it hard. But it was now that I could see Jolteon charging headfirst for the damp fossil pokemon.

"Rapidash! Stop it!" I yelled, hoping my defense would be quick enough.

"Jol!" As Jolteon leaped with charged fangs for Kabutops, it was struck midair by the horn of my Rapidash. "Teee!" It whined, retreating back to stand beside Flareon.

"Nice save." Kyle whispered. "Thanks for that."

"No prob." I blushed a little, glad that I had impressed him.

"Our turn now." Kyle stepped forward. "Kabutops! Mud Shot!" With that, Kabutops spat up two clumps of mud that stuck to the pair of eevee evolutions. Kyle turned to me. "Attack while they're slowed down."

"Right." I nodded. "Rapidash! Flare Blitz!" Rapidash sped forward, his flames surrounded him, turning almost iridescent silver. He struck Flareon, and was nearing Jolteon, when Volkner made his move.

"Pin Missile!" He screamed.

Tiny spikes sprang out of Jolteon's body, spraying in all directions. Flareon dodged, and Kabutops held up his arms in defense, but Rapidash was just too close. Several of the pins stuck his body, bringing him down.

"Now Flareon! Bite!" Flint commanded. His Flareon turned to Rapidash and bit down hard on his leg. Rapidash fell, overwhelmed by the close up attacks.

"This isn't good." I mumbled, recalling him to his ball. The next one I threw out, was for Luxray.

"Luxxxxxx!" Luxray yawned out a roar that frightened Flareon a little.

"Bu butops?" Kabutops turned to his trainer.

Kyle still looked calm, but glanced my way. "Shonna." He whispered. "I can't use Rock Tomb because there's not any rocks in this place. But I have an idea. Have Luxray use a electric type move when I tell you to."

"Got it." I whispered back.

"Not going to make a move?" Volkner laughed. "Then we will. Use Bite!"

"You too Flareon!"

"Just wait for it." Kyle watched as the pair headed straight for my luxray. Kabutops readied its scythes, about to strike.

I noticed Volkner's eyes widen before he screamed out. "Change targets!"

With that, the jolteon and flareon lunged for Kabutops, biting down hard on his tough skin.

"Shoot." Kyle grumbled.

"Buu!" Kabutops cried.

"Shonna! Now!"

"But Kyle!" I looked to Kabutops, then back to him.

"Just do it!"

"Discharge!"

I watched with guilt as Luxray surged electricity into Jolteon and Flareon. They remained latched onto Kabutops, and passed the charge onto him. All three pokemon writhed in pain until finally, Flareon dropped off, and after a few more seconds, Jolteon fainted as well.

"Return." Both Flint and Volkner recalled them, but my attention was focused to Kabutops, who was barely standing.

"Buuuu…" Kabutops trudged over to Kyle, falling into his arms. Kyle carefully held him up.

"You did so great. You're so much tougher than anyone knows." He smiled at Kabutops, carefully maneuvering around to give him a hug.

"Bu…bu…" Kabutops looked as if he might cry in happiness.

"You take a break now. Get some rest." Kyle tapped the pokeball to Kabutops back, sucking him inside.

"Interesting." Volkner said, releasing a Raichu onto the field.

"Very." Flint noted, releasing his Houndoom. "I didn't expect him to do that."

"Okay." Kyle said, collecting himself once more. "I know just the pokemon for the job here." He reached for the pokeball around his neck, holding his thumb just above the button. "Ready for some fun boy?" He released Arcanine, who roared so loud it made me jump.

"Lux." Luxray smirked, looking amused by his intimidating entrance.

"Arr." Arcanine growled slightly, eyeing the Houndoom with a vengeful look. His eyes turned from a light amber to almost as crimson red as Luxray's.

Flint turned to his friend. "Watch out for that Arcanine Volkner. I had a look at it earlier. It's the strongest I've ever seen."

Volkner stared at Arcanine. "Well you know what you're talking about when it comes to fire types."

"Go Arcanine!" Kyle called. "Use Flamethrower on Raichu!"

"Thunder Fang Luxray!" I pointed to Houndoom when I said this.

Luxray leaped forward, with sparks from he jaws. He leaped over and ducked under Arcanine's flames, slowly making his way closer. Distracted by the oncoming flames, Houndoom and Raichu jumped back. Raichu was still hit by the mass of flames, and more than likely burned too. The fire just kept pouring out of Arcanine, and Houndoom tried to search through it. It was impossible for any of the pokemon to see each other in it and the smoke that surrounded it, with the exception of Luxray that is. I already knew he had some amazing ability in his eyes, to see through solid walls. I smiled as he leaped through the flames, pouncing Houndoom and biting down hard with his fangs. Houndoom desperately tried to kick and scratch his way free.

"Dig Arcanine." Kyle said softly. Arcanine's ears perked as it began tearing through the gym floor. It shouldn't have surprised me really. I'd seen Arcanine claw his way through pavement before. In the smoke and haze, it was almost as if he'd disappeared from the battle.

Volkner squinted. "Raichu! Get it off with Slam!"

"Rai Rai!" Raichu rushed to Houndoom's defense, tackling Luxray off it.

"Luxxxxx…" Luxray growled at both of them.

"Get up Houndoom!" Flint commanded, and Houndoom unsteadily stood. "Get it back with Fire Fang!"

It was then that I noticed a glint of light reflecting off of Raichu. It had a magnet tied around its neck. I wasn't sure if Volkner and Flint had noticed Arcanine was gone, but I needed to give them a distraction. Buy him some time for him to dig under the gym. "Luxray! Dodge and use thief!"

"Lux!" Luxray sidestepped Houndoom, and ran forward to Raichu. Raichu of course jumped back, but was surprised when Luxray turned his back to him. While he faced Houndoom, and left Raichu stumped, he lifted his star shaped tail and sliced through the thin string holding its magnet. As it began dropping, Luxray turned to me and batted it with the side of his tail. I leaped up into the air to catch it. The smoke in the room was beginning to clear, and rise toward the high ceilings of the gym. I knew it wouldn't be long now.

"Well look what I got." I teased, twirling the magnet around in my hand.

"Give that back." Volkner glared at me.

"I don't know. I might just keep it."

"Feh." Volkner groaned. "Whatever. Just give it back after the battle."

I looked up to the ceiling once more, and looked over to see Kyle doing the same. Volkner did likewise, and Flint looked like he might slap himself, as the sprinkler system began raining down on us.

Kyle chuckled. "That never gets old."

"Doommm…" Houndoom flinched, and tried to shake off the water. Everyone in the room was soon covered in it.

"Wait." Volkner had a look of fear strike his face as he looked around the room. "Raichu! Use Thunder! Quickly!"

"Now!" Kyle screamed.

"Arrrrrrrr!" Arcanine clawed out from directly below Raichu, dragging him below the gym floor.

"Rai!" Raichu cried from under the stadium. It was difficult to tell what happened, but we could see sparks and flames come shooting out of the hole. After a minute, Arcanine reemerged from the chasm, holding a knocked out Raichu in his jaws. And he gently set him down in front of Volkner.

"No way." Volkner grumbled, looking somewhat shocked.

Flint turned his attention back to Houndoom, who still looked uncomfortable in the mist from the sprinklers. "How is that Arcanine unaffected?" He asked. "Houndoom! Fight through it! Use Fire Fang!"

Luxray was taken off guard when the houndoom latched onto his neck with blazing flames. "Lux…"

"Arrr!" Arcanine charged forward, biting down on Houndoom's neck. He tossed the pokemon out of the ring, as if it were a ragdoll.

"Houn…" Houndoom whimpered, laying in a heap.

"Return." Flint and Volkner once more recalled their fallen pokemon.

It was sort of wild looking to see Luxray and Arcanine fighting together. _A pair of monstrous beasts, taking down their opponents with ease. _But I choked on my thoughts when they released their last pokemon.

"Go Electivire!"

"Go Magmortar!"

Now, two new beasts, which stood about as tall as ours, met us at the other end of the gym.

"Well that makes things more interesting." Kyle smiled as the sprinkler system clicked off with horrible timing. "That magmortar looks strong."

"The electivire is bad news too!" I said. "I fought it before, and I didn't even get a hit in on it last time."

"We're doing well though." Kyle said back with seriousness. "We both still have two pokemon."

"Magmortar! Fire Punch!" Flint grinned as his pokemon charged forward, striking Luxray, who was standing too close to his opponents. He toppled over, instantly knocked out.

"You've got to be kidding!" I stood stunned for a moment before reaching for his pokeball, recalling him.

"Told you it was strong." Kyle frowned.

"Yeah." I reached into my bag, lacing my fingers around Palkia's masterball. "Oh how bad I want to." I grumbled. But I knew it was still too early, and too dangerous to do that. I reached down further, grabbing another pokeball and tossing it out onto the field.

Torterra stood strong, and seemed to like the wet floor.

"Is she stupid?" Volkner asked loudly. "She saw how Magmortar destroyed her last one in one hit, and now she sends out a grass type?" He began laughing.

"It is an odd choice." Flint chuckled. "Magmortar! Knock it out with Fire Blast!"

"Magggg!" Magmortar reared its arm back like a cannon, and projected it forward. Cinders began sparking in the hole.

"There's no time for Torterra to dodge!" I looked to Kyle desperately.

"Defend it Arcanine!"

Torterra turned his head and tried to get out of the way as the flames shot out toward him. Arcanine used Extreme Speed to jump in front of Torterra, taking all the damage. That is, if you can call it that. The flames glistened off his fur. They flicked out effortlessly, floating down to the ground.

"Tor?" Torterra looked up at Arcanine gratefully. "Terra!"

"Arf." Arcanine looked back at him with a smile.

"That did it." Kyle smiled as well. "Heat wave."

"Arrrraaaaaarrr!" Arcanine roared, as a burst of heat and fire shot in front of him. Magmortar and Electivire braced themselves and held through it, though it looked like it had done a lot of damage. It nearly knocked over Flint and Volkner, but we stood behind the blast and were completely unaffected.

"Flash Fire." Flint yelled once the hot air had passed. "I take it that's Arcanine's ability?"

"That'd be a good assumption." Kyle said being coy.

"Magmortar! Make sure you only get the Torterra!"

"Get in there too Electivire!"

The pair surrounded Torterra on either side. Arcanine stayed between Magmortar and him. In the mean time, Electivire snuck up behind him and reached his long tails over, wrapping them around Arcanine's hind legs. Arcanine dug his claws in to keep from being pulled away by them. So Electivire added electricity to them, shocking him all the while.

Torterra stood under Arcanine helplessly. "Torterra! Leaf Storm at it!" It was a new move, and much stronger than Razor Leaf. Leaves flew out of the tree on his back, cutting into Electivire, who looked none too pleased with the annoyance. He unwrapped one of his tails, to try and grab Torterra with it. The tail sparked and slithered like a snake toward him.

"Crunch!" I screamed. Torterra grabbed the tail in his mouth and bit down hard, making the discharge surge through him.

"What?" Volkner yelled. "That's suicide!"

"Electric type moves won't hurt Torterra much, where he's part ground." I whispered. "Wait. I have an idea." I turned to Kyle. "Use something to get them to back off, return Arcanine and use a small pokemon. One small enough to fit on Torterra's back."

"What?" He looked at me strangely. "Arcanine's the only thing standing between Torterra getting fried to a crisp!"

"Just trust me Kyle!" I yelled. "Arcanine won't last much longer getting shocked like that anyway."

"Okay…" He seemed skeptical as he hovered his thumb over the pokeball on his neck. "Arcanine! Aim your flames at both of them!"

"Arr!" Arcanine followed the command and carefully aimed a flamethrower over Torterra, striking Electivire. The pokemon jumped back, and Magmortar tried to charge his way forward. Arcanine shoved his head into him, knocking him back. As he did this, he was sucked back into his pokeball.

"What?" Flint and Volkner yelled in unison.

Kyle smiled still skeptically as he let Jolteon out. "Hop on his back little girl."

"Jolt!" His Jolteon happily bounced up onto Torterra's back, hiding behind the shrubbery. "Jol! Jol!"

"Well that's it." Volkner laughed insanely. "They must have given up."

"I don't know…" Flint watched carefully. "Okay Magmortar! Make your move on both of them! Fire Blast!"

Once more, Magmortar began charging up flames in his arms.

"Torterra! Earthquake!" I screamed.

"Torterra!" Torterra raised his upper body up, making Jolteon have to grip onto branches. He slammed back down with such force, it knocked everyone in the building down to the floor, including the pokemon. Both Electivire and Magmortar fell from the super-effective tremor, and it knocked the fire blast loose from Magmortar's arm. The flames surged toward us, burning all of the front of Torterra. He collapsed on the floor.

"This battle's over." Volkner grinned. Our pokemon are still standing, and yours are laying in a pile in the floor. Save for the Arcanine, which will be easy with two against one."

Volkner obviously couldn't see what we were seeing. Jolteon looked back at us questionably from Torterra's back, completely unharmed by hiding behind his bushes.

Kyle and I looked at each other and smiled.

"Okay then. I guess that leaves us only one choice." Kyle said, looking forward. "Pin Missile!"

"Jol!" Jolteon leaped out to the center of the stage, and shot out tiny spike after spike out at the pokemon in front of them. Confused and surprised, both Electivire and Magmortar fell to their knees, and finally, fell forward into the floor. "Jolt?" Jolteon crept forward, poking their heads with her yellow paws. They made no move.

"Amazing." Flint said, smiling the whole time as he recalled his pokemon.

Volkner stood with his mouth agape, stunned.

"So." Kyle smirked as we recalled our pokemon. "Whose flawless record is tainted now?"

He didn't reply, but recalled his electivire.

Flint crossed his arms and looked at him. "That would be you my friend."

"Whatever." Volkner finally said.

"Hey Volkner." I held his magnet up. "You want this back now? Sorry about breaking the thread. I'll replace it if you want."

"Keep it." He said quietly. "I have plenty. And…" He paused. "I was wrong about you, so consider it a bonus, in addition to this." He walked over with two shiny badges and handed us each one.

"Really? Thanks!" I said, placing them in my trainer case. "I'll put the magnet to good use too, on Luxray's collar later."

"Flint stepped forward now, placing a hand on Volkner's shoulder. "So now you see that gym leaders can lose too. I bet that battle had to stir up some of that old excitement in you. Right?"

"It was… exciting." He admitted.

"So then," Flint smiled. "You'll stick with the gym."

We all awaited his response. "No way." He finally barked out.

"What?" Flint jumped back. "Why not?"

"If anything, these two have only further proved my point. Competing in leagues and challenging gym leaders is the best way to be better in battles." He turned to me. "In some, it can make them improve leaps and bounds."

"While that may be true, you can't just abandon your gym, can you?" Kyle asked.

"Right!" I agreed. "You put so much work into it."

"And by leaving suddenly, you'll put the league in a real bind." Flint added. "Finding a replacement gym leader isn't easy you know."

I cocked my head at his comment_. He's probably right, but how would he know anything about that?_

"Like I care." Volkner said gruffly. "I won't change my mind. I'm packing my bags and heading out to compete in the Sinnoh League tomorrow."

"Don't be so selfish Volkner!" Flint yelled. "You can't leave that soon. The next league match is just a few weeks away. You won't make that deadline anyway, so why not wait until then?"

Volkner glared at him. "If you want someone here to take care of the place so bad, why don't you take over?"

Flint glowered back at him. "You know I can't do that."

Kyle and I just watched this verbal battle for a few minutes until finally, Volkner expelled a sigh of defeat.

"Fine!" He yelled. But I'm leaving the day after the league's over. If they haven't found a replacement by then, it's not my problem." He stormed off to the rear of the gym.

"Stupid impulsive…" Flint grumbled.

"Umm…" I interrupted. "Why do care so much?"

Flint turned and smiled, but didn't answer. "I hate the way things turned out. I thought for sure that being beat by you guys would turn him around."

"He seems pretty set on it." Kyle noted.

Flint sighed. "Kyle, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure."

"Just us."

"Wait. Why?" I ran my fingers through my hair nervously.

Flint smiled sweetly at me. "I just need one minute with him. Please?"

"Guy talk?" I asked, annoyed. "Whatever. I'll be waiting in the hallway." I walked out the doors, headed down the hall.

"What a firecracker you have there." Flint laughed. "She's perfect for a guy like you I guess."

Kyle smiled. "She doesn't like being out of the loop."

Flint nodded, making his red afro bounce. "I see that. So I guess you know what I'm going to ask."

"I do." He smiled. "And I agree."

**x-x-x**

After Kyle finally came out he opened the heavy doors once more for me. We headed straight to the pokemon center and rested after the exhausting day. And as I curled up under the covers, I made a point to ask him about this conversation between him and Flint first thing in the morning.


	54. Dropping the Flint Bomb!

**x-x-x**

Episode 53: Dropping the Flint Bomb!

"So Kyle!" I wrapped my arm around his waist the next morning as we headed out. "Tell me what you and Flint were so secretive about yesterday!"

Kyle just smiled as he continued walking, and we were greeted by a familiar red ball of hair at the door.

"Yo!" Flint waved, walking right past us to Nurse Joy. He handed her an envelope. "I need this delivered. I know it will probably get there quicker than I can."

"Will do." Nurse Joy took the letter and inspected the address, taking it to her PC.

"Okay than!" Flint said, wrapping one arm around each of our shoulders. "Let's go gang!"

"Huh?" I shrugged him off and looked to Kyle.

"You really want to know? He asked if he could come with us today. If he could accompany us to the league."

"What?" I turned back to Flint now. "Are you competing too?"

Flint snickered. "You could say that."

"How come nobody asked me?" I whined. "I mean, you know I don't care but…" I said this, but deep down I was hoping for a romantic trip across the ocean and to the league. Just the two of us.

"Well, if you don't care, than let's go!" Flint marched forward. "Kyle said he has an awesome gyarados we can ride!"

"Gyarados?" I whined as we headed outside, straight for the beach line. "But I wanted to ride a boat!"

"There aren't any boats that run on this route!" Flint started dying laughing. "What, did you think we were going to make it that easy on trainers?"

"What?" I stopped walking, confused by his statement.

"Uh." He stopped as well, turning around with an innocent look. "I mean, the league that is. They don't make things easy. You have to figure out other ways to get there."

Kyle spun a pokeball on his finger, staring out to the sea. "In other words, no leisurely ferry rides up to it huh?"

"No sir-e." Flint grinned as he snuck up behind me. "In fact," He used a scary tone of voice. "After you get past all the water, there's a deep, dark, creepy cave to get through!"

I turned to face him, putting my hands on my hips. "And I have to spend all that time with you?"

"Shonna! Don't be so rude to our guest." Kyle tossed the pokeball into the water. A huge light shone out of it, before Gyarados raised his head out of the water. He was even more massive, and fearsome than I remembered.

"But he's teasing me Kyle!" I turned back to Kyle, only to see Flint now giving me bunny ears with his fingers behind my head. "See!"

Kyle walked over to Gyarados, stroking his scaly head. The monster let out a low, content sort of growl. "I think it will be fun having a third person with us, just for our short trip to the league." Kyle now scratched under Gyarados's chin like one might do for a skitty. I cringed as the beast gave a toothy grin, and slowly raised his long blue tail up in happiness. I stood hapless as Gyarados slammed its tail down on the water, making it splash all over Kyle and me. Flint peered over my shoulder after the mist vanished.

"Kyle!" He yelled. "Your girlfriend's so tall that if you stand behind her you won't get wet!"

I hung my head as Kyle helped me climb aboard Gyarados's back. "Let's just get this show on the road."

**x-x-x**

It was a long, and tiresome trip up the ocean route. Kyle insisted I fight a few of the water type trainers along the way, though he and Flint never battled any of them. In fact, they sat back comfortably and watched me do all the hard work of battling the pestering trainers. And though I knew I needed the training, it annoyed me to no end. Perhaps what made me mad the most though, was a selfish reason.

I glanced back during one of my battles on a small island, to see Flint and Kyle cracking up about something atop Gyarados's back. _I'm glad he made a friend. _I thought to myself. _Kyle told me once that he doesn't have many friends. And after the incident with Ricky, he's pretty wary about making new ones. So really, I'm glad Flint came along…_

"You're not paying attention!" The fisherman I was fighting screamed. "Kingler! Use Vicegrip!"

"Dodge Staraptor." I didn't turn my gaze, but I knew she could easily fly away from that. _What on Earth are they laughing about so much? Flint had better not be making fun of me again!_

"Errr…" The Fisherman growled. "Sand Attack!"

The Kingler threw its pincers into the sandy beach, making sand spray up. Staraptor flew up and missed every grain. But it sloshed up on me, flicking tiny granules into my eyes.

"You jerk!" I rubbed my eyes feverishly, making my glasses fall off. "Teach your pokemon to aim at its opponent, not their trainer!"

"Who says that wasn't what I was aiming for?" The man snickered.

I couldn't see anything, but I knew Kyle and Flint had suddenly went quiet.

"Star!" Staraptor hovered above, concerned.

I kept rubbing my eyes as I issued the command. "Finish this with Brave Bird!"

"Star!" I felt the wind as Staraptor zoomed by, and heard her crash hard into what had to be Kingler.

"Good." The fisherman huffed. I squinted to see him recall his pokemon. "I'm glad this battle's over."

"Same here." I grumbled.

"Hey you!" I heard Flint yell. Him and Kyle had climbed down to stand beside me. "Attacking another trainer is against pokemon league rules!"

"Yeah well she was the one dragging on the fight!" The fisherman complained.

Kyle looked pretty angry, from what I could tell. "Get out of here now before I turn your Kingler into fish food for my Gyarados!"

"Oh. I'm so scared." The creep let out his Kingler once more. I thought at first he was going to have a go at battling Kyle, but he hopped on the crab's back instead, and sped away.

"What a sore loser." Flint stood with his hands on his sides. "People like that will never get through the league."

"Star!" Staraptor landed beside me and scooped up my glasses in her beak. She pushed them into my hand.

"Thanks Staraptor." I reached into my pocket with my other hand, and got out her pokeball to recall her.

"Try to open your eyes Shonna." Kyle said, forcing my eyelids open.

"But it stings!" Out of reaction, I kept closing them.

"Well, there's plenty of water around here!" Flint started heading for the shore.

"No!" Kyle yelled. "Salt water will only make it hurt worse." I could hear him digging around in his backpack for something. "Here we go. Open your eyes Shonna."

I did as he said, and felt cold water trickle down into my eyes. I instinctively closed them. But when it stopped, and didn't hurt, I opened the other eye to let him clean it out. After a minute, I was able to put on my glasses, and see Kyle standing beside me with an empty water bottle in hand.

"That was our last bottle." He tucked it back into his backpack. "I hope there's someplace we can stop and refill it soon."

Flint crossed his arms. "You could always get gyarados to spit out a hydro pump in it."

I gave him a shocked look.

"Or not." He laughed. "I mean, I have a canteen on me."

I crossed my arms as well. "I'm not drinking after Gyarados! Or you! Yuck!"

"Suit yourself." He smiled. "But being out on the water will make a person pretty thirsty."

"I'll be just fine." I climbed back up onto Gyarados.

Kyle climbed up with me, muttering under his breath. "Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink."

Flint chuckled. "You know that's not the only thing that having a lot of water around will make you want to do."

"Oh hush." I grumbled as he slid up behind us on Gyarados's back. Without command, we began moving forward. _I don't have to go yet. I'm going to try and hold out. As necessary as it is sometimes, I really hate going in the bush._ I looked around nervously. _There are no bushes!_

"Quit freaking her out Flint." Kyle said sternly.

"Alright alright." He fluffed up his red hair. "Besides. You'll make it. There's a pokemon center just ahead. As soon as we go up the waterfall, we'll be able to rest."

"Well that's good." Kyle sighed. "We've spent practically all day on the water."

"Yeah…" I nodded. "Wait. Flint? How do you know this route so well?"

"Well, let's just say I've fought in the Sinnoh league several times. I know my way around here."

"I see." I looked back toward the ocean in front of me, spotting a huge waterfall in the distance. "Just keep coming back for more?"

"Yeah." He chuckled. "Can't get enough of it I guess."

**x-x-x**

By sunset, we had reached the massive waterfall, and we hung on tight as Gyarados swam up it sideways with ease. Just as Flint said, there was a small pokemon center, sitting at the waterfall's peak. Night began to fall, and I found myself getting a breath of fresh, salty air as Kyle and Flint signed up for separate rooms. Though it was dangerous, I walked over the water's edge, watching the water run by with furiosity. The closer I got to the waterfall, the more rapid it would flow. I couldn't help wandering out to the edge, peering over at the ocean below.

"What are you doing?" Kyle said from behind me. He made me jump, and I nearly fell, but regained my balance.

"Umm… just looking at the view. It's a beautiful night out."

"You shouldn't be out here alone Shonna." His expression held concern.

"Well." I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a hug. "I'm not alone now."

He held me by the water's edge, and looked up toward the moon. I noticed how its light made his green eyes lighten, and the red highlights in his auburn hair glisten. I buried my face into his shoulder, trying to hide my flush.

"Shonna?" He finally spoke. "Are you perhaps a little jealous lately?"

"Jealous?" I pulled away to look at him. "No. No way. I mean… I just don't like sharing your attention, that's all."

"In other words, you're jealous." He chuckled.

"No!" I shouted. "I'm really not!" I hugged him once more. "I'm happy you made a friend. Really."

He leaned his head against mine. "You know of course, that you'll always be my best friend." He pulled his fingers through some of my hair.

"I know." A reflection from the water caught in my glasses, making me turn. "And I know, you don't have many people that you like well enough to call a friend."

"True." He looked up again. "It's funny you say that, because I just got off the phone with one of them. He's in town anyway, so I asked that he come watch us at the league match."

"Who?"

"His name's Bill. You might have heard of him."

"Bill?"

"He's known for his inventions. Particularly that of the PC systems."

I pulled away from him again. "The Bill? The Bill that created the pokemon storage system? The Bill that made that possible?"

"The very one." He nodded.

"Wow." I walked past him, heading up the river. "I guess it only makes sense. Famous people only make friends with other famous people."

"Ain't that the truth." He mumbled. "But no! Actually I've been friends with Bill for a long time. Childhood friends you might say."

"You go that far back huh?" I watched the water run by once more. "Kyle, you steered your Gyarados right up the side of the waterfall like it was nothing."

"Yeah so?" He walked over to stand beside me.

"Do you think…" I paused. "Do you think I'll ever be able to ride on Palkia? I would love to have him surf me around. Just once, you know?"

"I don't know Shonna. That's a pretty tall order." He spoke firmly. "Palkia's doing much better in training. It will even somewhat obey commands, but I wouldn't push things. I think the last thing it wants to do is give you a pleasant ride across the water." When I didn't say anything, he continued. "How about Vaporeon? She can surf you around to places."

"Yeah…" I sighed. "But she's so small my legs dangle in the water when I ride her. And sometimes that scares me."

"Scares you?" Kyle laughed. "Why? I haven't seen a magikarp latch onto your foot throughout this whole region!"

"Yeah. Maybe the ones here don't have a taste for my feet." I laughed as well. "You're right. It was a silly idea."

His arms encircled me once more, pulling me toward him. "Shonna, it won't be easy, but somehow we'll rein in Palkia. And I'm going to be there to help you, every step of the way."

I looked into his eyes. "Do you really mean that?"

He leaned forward, whispering. "Of course I do Angel."

"Hey!" A voice screamed to us from the doorway of the pokemon center. I glanced over to see Flint and his ball shaped head of hair, standing there looking slightly regretfully. "Uh oh. Sorry. I just got bored and wanted to know if you guys were up for a card game."

"Not now Flint." Kyle never turned his gaze away from me.

"Okay." Flint put one hand behind his head and laughed. "No big deal." He went back inside.

"Thanks Kyle." I looked down in embarrassment. "But if you want to go, you can."

With that, he pulled me closer, into a kiss. One that I couldn't free myself from, even if I had wanted to. I silently wondered if I would always melt in his arms like this.

After a minute, we walked back inside in silence. Flint was playing poker, or gin rummy, or something with the Nurse Joy. _I've never been good at card games. It's a good thing that I'm better at pokemon battles than I am with those._ I thought to myself, as we headed on to bed.

**x-x-x**

Part of me didn't want to leave when the sun peeked through the window the next morning. In a way, I wanted to just curl up and go back to sleep. But I could feel Kyle stirring in the bunk above, and knew we'd be taking off soon. We only had two weeks to reach the league. Which meant not a lot of time for training once we got there. I pulled the pillow over my head as I heard a familiar voice on the other side of our door.

"Hey! You guys awake yet?" Flint yelled. "I'll be waiting in the lobby. Okay?"

"Five more minutes." I grumbled, turning over in the bed.

Kyle seemingly slid down the ladder from his bunk. He was humming some tune as he headed for the bathroom.

"He seems happy." I grumbled, hearing the shower kick on. I yawned knowing I had a little while longer, but he reemerged fully ready to go by the time I'd fallen back asleep.

"Wake up Shonna." He nudged me. "Time to go."

I mumbled something incomprehensible as I trudged off for the bathroom. I showered, brushed my teeth, and stared at my reflection in the mirror, still half-asleep. "Eh. Good enough." I put on my clothes, and decided to let my hair air dry. If I used a brush and hairdryer, it came out straight. But if I let it dry naturally, it usually had a light curl to it. I peeked out from the bathroom to see Kyle had stepped out. _Probably went to get his morning coffee._ I smiled, leaping back for the bed.

**x-x-x**

"You okay in there?" Kyle knocked on the door before opening it. "Shonna? Oh Shonna. C'mon! You can't sleep all day!" I felt him pulling my arm, making me sit up.

I yawned. "I'm ready! I just wanted to take a little nap."

"You're ready huh?" He looked at me with question.

"Yeah!" I got up unsteadily. "Let's go!" I marched out into the lobby, getting a couple odd stares. I assumed it was because I was still half asleep. I saw Flint stand up, and stare at me as well. Then, he smiled.

"Shonna, I knew you liked my hair, but really, you just can't compete. Nobody does an afro like me." Flint ran his hand over his red hair, rounding it out.

"What are you talking about?" I stopped when I saw my reflection in the tv. Going to bed on it wet, had made my hair stand up in all directions, with thick curls, and tangles. "Agh!" I ran past Kyle, headed back to our room.

"She'll be back." Kyle said, twirling the room key on his finger.

"Kyle!" I screamed from the hallway. "Can you let me back in?"

"I thought you said you were ready." He teased.

"I changed my mind!"

Kyle laughed a little. "Be right back Flint."

**x-x-x**

At somewhere around noon, we headed out for the nearby cavern. It was dark, with zubat flying around everywhere. I clung onto Kyle's arm, nervously pulling back a piece of my now straightened hair behind my ear. Flint snuck up beside me, making a scary face.

"What'd I tell ya? Dark and creepy!" He yelled, echoing throughout the cave.

"Shut up." I said, clinging even tighter as we walked along.

"The terrain is getting rougher by the minute." Kyle interrupted. "I think we might have to call upon our pokemon in a minute."

"Fine by me." Flint released Rapidash, as Kyle let out Arcanine.

"Want to ride with me?" Kyle asked, holding his hand out.

"Or me?" Flint asked with a grin.

"Definitely not!" I yelled. "And I'll just ride my own pokemon thank you." I let out Luxray, who happily scooped me up.

Kyle smiled at us. "Luxray is actually a good idea. He'll be able to see through the cliff walls. He's our best chance at making us get out of here without getting lost."

I grinned widely. "We'll lead the way then!" I pat Luxray on the head. "Can you help us get out of here?"

"Luuuux!" Luxray growled playfully, walking over to the first thick rock wall. He stared at it for a long time, before turning to head right.

**x-x-x**

I checked my poketch at around 5:00 pm. We hadn't been going circles thanks to Luxray, but it was still taking forever to reach the end of this cave. I'd eaten a snack before we left the pokecenter, but now, my stomach growled as loudly as Luxray was.

"Lux lux." Luxray laughed at me.

"It's not funny." I smiled, pulling him to a stop. I looked back at Kyle and Flint. "Can we stop and eat?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Kyle pulled Arcanine to a stop beside me, and tossed his book bag off his shoulder. "Luckily I packed these away from the forest before we came in here." He reached down, pulling out an armful of twigs for Arcanine to light. Within minutes, a campfire was blazing on the cavern floor.

Flint sat on his Rapidash, looking down at him. "You really going to fix something to eat?"

"I don't have much, but it should be enough to get a soup going, and some tea." Kyle worked away with the pots he had stowed away in his bag.

"Kyle's a great cook." I pointed out. "Without him, I probably would have starved on this journey!"

"Oh wow." Flint grinned, stepping off his Rapidash. "So you've got yourself a real homebody of a man eh?"

Kyle gave him a funny look and laughed as he continued cooking.

"Don't get me wrong." I watched Kyle in the corner of my eye. "He's not so good with laundry, and he certainly needs to learn how to clean. Not the most organized fellow."

Kyle looked up at me. "Luckily I have you for that, right my love?" He winked, making me blush and turn away.

"You guys are cute." Flint seemed to daze off for a minute.

"Hey Flint!" I jumped down from Luxray. "If you know this path so well, you must know your way through here right? Are we close to the end of the cave?"

"Huh?" Flint blinked. "To be honest, it's been a while since I came through the cave. I usually fly over it."

"We could have flown over it?" I whined. "Why didn't I think of that?" Nobody said anything. I let out a sigh. "I just wish we could hurry up and get out of here. It's too bad we can't all fit on Kyle's bike."

"It wasn't even meant for two people you know." Kyle stirred away at the broth, holding the pot over the flame. "Besides… I sold it."

"You what?" I stared at him with a shocked look.

"I sold it. I was showing it to Flint during that poffin contest, and somebody approached me with a good offer, so I took it."

"But you loved that bike!"

"It was starting to wear down. You remember how it needed repairs recently. And besides, I could use the money." Kyle just stared down into the soup.

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't imagine for the life of me why he would get rid of his bike. _I know he has other means of getting around. I mean heck, Arcanine is faster than his bike can top off, but still! We had so many memories on that thing. I sort of missed it. And If I miss it, I know he has to…_

"Soups on." He said calmly.

"Awesome!" Flint sat down beside Kyle and took a bowl, slurping it down with no spoon. "Dude. You are pretty good."

Kyle laughed, handing me a bowl. "Well thanks."

I took a spoon and slowly ate away at it. Even so, I finished before everyone else because I only had one bowl. While Kyle and Flint worked on their second helpings, I made my rounds to the three pokemon surrounding us. Flint's Rapidash happily ate my poffin treat I gave it, as well as Luxray. I then approached Arcanine.

"Arf." Arcanine barked quietly.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, giving him a brief hug. "Good boy. Would you like a poffin?"

"Arf." He nudged his furry head gently on me.

"Okay." I giggled, feeding it to him. He licked my hand for crumbs. He sniffed at me, then put his nose to the ground. He walked away from our trail a little, heading into the caverns. "Hey Arcanine wait!" I followed him out. It was not very far from our campsite, but I still clung to his side, gripping onto some of his fur as we walked along. I noticed that with each step we took, the cold and damp cave became less cold, and more damp. I gasped when Arcanine led me around a corner to grouping of two seemingly untouched hot springs.

"Arf! Arf!" Arcanine bounded, head first into one of the far springs.

"Well look what we have here." Kyle said, walking up behind me with Luxray. Flint and his Rapidash close behind.

Flint stood jaw-dropped looking at the Arcanine, which sank happily into the hot water.

I sat down my bag, and walked along the edge of the cave, peering into a tunnel. "Wow. There's even more back in this area."

Flint turned to Kyle, looking serious, which wasn't like him. "Kyle! You must tell me how your Arcanine is able to do that! To sit so happily in water!"

"Well Flint if you must know," Kyle sat down his bookbag and turned his head to the side. "I trained most of my fire types in hot springs. It's the reason why they have somewhat of an immunity to water."

"So that's your secret!" Flint pulled his Rapidash into the far tunnel I was standing beside. "Let's go train Rapidash!"

"Brrr!" His Rapidash looked none too pleased by the idea.

I watched them leave as Kyle whirled me around to look at him. "Well that got rid of him."

"Huh?" My eyes met with his, and I could see a seductive look in them.

"What?" He leaned in closer, grinning at me. "Weren't you the one who said you wanted some more alone time? Just the two of us?" He let go and slinked off to the nearby hot spring.

"Umm…" I blushed, looking at Arcanine happily splashing in the spring nearby, taunting Luxray to join him. Luxray stepped in with no problem, and the two began play fighting in the spring. "You know, this isn't really what I had in mind."

"What a shame." Kyle pulled off the t-shirt he was wearing and threw it to the ground. "Guess I'll have this whole spring to myself then."

I tried not to show my embarrassment as he slid down his pants, and eventually was in nothing but his boxers as he stepped into the water. The spring was large, and it looked deep. I sat on a rock close by, looking away. "I guess you will."

"Do you have a bathing suit?" Kyle asked, swimming around.

"No!" I blushed. "I don't even own one."

"Well. That's okay." He swam over and grabbed my arm. "C'mon."

"Kyle don't!" I screamed, jerking away.

"Shonna?" He let go and leaned against the rock, kicking his legs in the water. "You okay?"

I hung my head, watching as my long blonde hair shifted in front of my face. "I'm not a very good swimmer. That water looks deep."

"Huh?" He swam back a little. "You've swam before though. I know you have. You did to save your riolu egg, right?"

"Yeah." I kicked off my shoes and stuck my feet into the water. It was so hot, I almost jerked them back out. "It was kind of a heat of the moment thing. That hot spring was owned by somebody, and not very deep. I knew it was safe. But really, I'm not a very good swimmer."

"If you're scared, I'll hold onto you." He suggested. "I'll make sure you don't go under."

I got tired of my glasses being fogged up and sat them to the side. "Doesn't it bother you, having your glasses be fogged up like that?"

"It does." He laughed. "But I'm pretty much blind as a bat without them. If I ever lose mine, you'll have to lead me around okay?" He smiled, holding out his arms. "We all have things we're scared of Shonna, but you don't need to be afraid of this."

I smiled at him, as I slid into his embrace. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and closed my eyes shut as I began sinking down into the hot water. I felt his knees push me up, and he shifted me around, to where I was safely in his arms. I opened my eyes, seeing my hair float all around us. "I must be heavy…" I said quietly.

"You're not. And no one is heavy in water." He added.

We were quiet for a while, enjoying the silent embrace.

"I could teach you how to swim better you know." He blushed as he looked at me. It was very rarely that I saw him blush. It could have been from just the hot water, but I wanted to think that maybe he was feeling just as embarrassed as I was.

"Not right now." I buried my face into his neck. "Let's just enjoy this moment."

He turned his head to look at me with a smile. He pressed his wet lips against mine. And if I didn't feel weightless enough, I definitely did then. I let out a sigh as I happily kissed him over and over.

"Excuse me." A sullen voice interrupted. I opened my eyes to see a young girl, probably around thirteen years old, standing beside the spring. She stared at us with a look somewhere between nonchalance, and annoyance. I was taken back by her attire. She was wearing a black and white, gothic dress, and a bow to match. She looked almost like a doll standing before us. A creepy one. "Excuse me." She said once more as we stared back at her.

Kyle looked just about as annoyed with her. "Yes?" He swam over to the edge, letting me crawl up on the rocks.

The girl didn't say anything now.

"Umm, are you okay?" I slowly approached her, trying to wring out my hair. "Are you hurt or something?"

Again, she didn't speak.

"Hey." Kyle stepped out and quickly put on his clothes. "What's up with you?"

The girl looked up to our Arcanine and Luxray, who had quit splashing in the spring behind us. "I need help."

"Okay?" I stepped forward. "What can we do for you?"

"You two," She seemed to struggle to get her words out. "Are trainers right?"

"Yes?" Kyle slid on his shirt and walked over to where I was.

"I can't find my way out." She hung her head, with no expression.

"Oh." I looked back at Kyle, who shrugged. "Well, we are going to be heading out of here soon."

"May I… come?" She asked meekly.

"Sure." I said with a bit of hesitation. "I'd hate for you to be wandering around lost in here."

She hung her head once more.

"Woo!" Flint called out from the tunnel, sliding on his yellow polo. "That was great Kyle! Rapidash wouldn't try it, but all the rest of my pokemon loved the water!" He stopped when he saw us. "Hey. Who's the emo chick?"

I glared at him. "Don't mind him." I said, trying to comfort her. "Can you tell us your name?"

"Marley." She said quietly.

"Okay Marley." I grabbed my bag, and put on a smile. "We'll help you get out of here. It'll be nice having another girl around!" I waited a minute to see how she would react, but Marley only frowned.

"We've been riding on our pokemon Marley." Flint patted his Rapidash. "Would you like to ride with one of us?"

Marley stared at each of our pokemon with question. "I have one." She released a large Arcanine. Not as large as Kyle's, but still pretty big.

"Oh no!" I groaned. "Not another fire type trainer!" I laughed now, but Marley just hung her head again. "Gosh, I was just joking. It's okay!" I hopped up onto Luxray's back. "Well uh. I guess I'll lead the way again."

**x-x-x**

As with the first stretch of the cave, there were plenty of trainers to fight along the way. Kyle and Flint fought a few, but I took on most of them. Marley shook her head no to every offer, and remained quiet through the whole trip. Eventually, light shone around the corner, and Luxray turned it to find a tunnel with light at the end of it.

"I think this is it everyone!" We ran forward on our pokemon, and when my eyes finally had time to adjust, we found ourselves on a huge cliff base overlooking the ocean. In the distance, just beyond the city, sat a beautiful, cathedral-like building. It was the façade for the entrance to the Sinnoh league. "Ye-eah!" I cheered as Luxray bounded around on the soft grass. I looked back to see everyone all smiles, except Marley. "Marley? You okay?"

"This is not the way out I wanted."

"What" I sat stunned.

"I wanted to see a field of flowers, and a place with a miniature version of all of Sinnoh. A stone tablet's there, and a pokemon…"

Kyle crossed his arms and eyed her strangely. "She finally speaks and it's a bunch of weirdness."

Marley was unresponsive. She turned her Arcanine in the other direction, back to the cave. "I shall keep searching. Thank you for escorting me."

"Marley!" I yelled. "Are you sure?"

She didn't say anything, but headed back inside the cave.

"She was a strange one." Flint said once she left.

"No doubt." I agreed. "But I feel bad letting her go like that."

"Her choice though." Kyle shrugged. "Besides, we made it!" Arcanine and him turned back around. "We're at the league, right?"

Flint nodded. "The one and only Sinnoh League."


	55. Preparing for the League!

**A/N: There's a lot of perspective changes from people watching the league in order to sum up preliminary battles. Enjoy!  
**

**x-x-x  
**  
Episode 54: Preparing for the League!

After crossing straight through town, we recalled our pokemon and ran into the huge building. It was a relief to see the enormous pokemon center lobby and pokemart inside. I smiled, looking all around, and ran straight for the registration desk. There was a pretty long line. It was only a week until the competition though, so that was to be expected. I showed the girl all my badges in my trainer's case, almost bouncing on the counter.

"One moment please." She took my trainer card from it and slid it into a PC.

I turned around to see Kyle and Flint not in line behind me at all. Instead, they were off to the side, chit chatting. I tilted my head, wondering what they could be talking about, when they should both be in line with me.

"Here you are miss." The lady closed my trainer case and slid it over to me. "We have all your data in our PC system now. You're trainer number 159, and here's a key to your room at our pokecenter." She slid the key over as well. "Have a nice stay."

**x-x-x**

"So, you're really going to go through with this?" Flint asked, pulling Kyle aside.

"Yeah sure." Kyle nodded calmly. "I've had this planned out for a while you know."

"Yeah but…" Flint paused, and shook his head. "Well, it's your choice."

"I know. But I'm making the right decision here. Don't worry." Kyle looked down, shuffling something in his pocket.

Flint grinned widely. "Well, good luck then!" He glanced over to the tall blonde at the registration desk. "Or should I be saying good luck to her?"

Kyle laughed. "You don't need to worry about her either. She'll do great. She beat you, remember?"

"With your help!" Flint yelled, then lowered his voice. "But, I'm not going to go easy on her just because of your little plan. I hope you know that."

"I didn't expect you to." Kyle chuckled. "I'm going through with this regardless of what happens."

"Win or lose huh?" Flint ran his hands through his afro. "Alright then. I'll support you with it. But I hate that…"

"Don't worry." Kyle smirked. "We'll have a rematch sometime."

Flint smirked back. "Looking forward to it." He now adjusted his suspenders up on his shoulders. "Well hey, I gotta get out of here, but just a word of advice, if you see the new champion around here, steer clear of him. He's not a nice dude. Certainly not the role model Cynthia was, and he slinks around the hallways here like he's some kind of ex-con."

"What?" Kyle laughed a little, then looked at him oddly. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. He's a real weirdo. I'll be looking forward to when someone takes his place." Flint turned to walk away. "I need to go. Good luck with everything though."

"Thanks." Kyle turned as well, to the beautiful girl who was walking toward him, looking more agitated by the minute.

**x-x-x**

I pushed my glasses up with my finger as I approached them. "Hey! Aren't you guys going to register? I was even holding a spot in line for you!"

Flint put one hand behind his head of hair nervously. "Oh uh. I actually already did… online. Yeah. Thanks though. I'm gonna go train now! See ya later!" He ran down the hall like a bullet.

"What was that about?" I asked quietly, turning to my boyfriend. "And how about you? What's your excuse?"

He took a deep breath, then smiled. "I'm not competing."

I waited a minute for him to explain, then stood jaw-dropped. "What?"

"I'm not competing."

"What do you mean you're not competing?" I yelled so loud, that everyone in the lobby turned.

"I've decided not to. I don't want to." He said it so calmly. I was speechless for a solid minute.

"I don't understand." I looked down at my feet. "All those gym badges, and all that time we spent traveling together…"

Kyle lifted my head with his hand to look at him. "And it was all worth it. In the end, I got exactly what I wanted out of it. You."

I tried to turn away in embarrassment, but now he just wrapped his other arm around me, keeping me from doing so. "But your title! You were going to be the 4 region champ!"

"I don't want to be any more famous than I am." He whispered. "Actually, I'd like to make it settle down." He blushed a little and hugged me even tighter.

"Mr. Kyle Gray!" A Nurse Joy yelled from the registration desk. "You have mail!"

"See what I mean?" Kyle laughed, letting go of me. "Even Nurse Joys I haven't met before know me!" He walked to the desk, taking the letter from her.

"Right." I laughed, following him as he walked off to open it. "So let me guess, this is fan mail?"

"If I start getting fan mail…" He ran his finger over the address. "It's from the Sinnoh League."

"Let me see!" I pulled it away and began to read. "Dear Mr. Gray. We have heard of your journey throughout our region and how you've successful beaten all of our gym leaders. We also know of your previous track record of being a tri-regional champion. And unfortunately we have also received word that one of our gym leaders will be leaving us soon." I paused for a minute before reading the rest. "Considering your record and also the recommendation from one of our esteemed league members, we would like to know if you would consider a position as our 8th gym leader, replacing Volkner. You of course would be welcome to change the gym's location, and type theme. If you are interested, please contact us to schedule an interview, and preliminary battle to test your skill. Although, we feel very strongly that you are a good candidate for this job." I folded the paper back up, broadsided by the information I'd just read. "Sincerely, the Sinnoh League."

Kyle had a look of a kid in a candy store. He grabbed me and twirled me around, laughing the whole time. "That's great news!"

"You're gonna be a gym leader?" I was still stunned.

"Sounds that way, if they accept me!" Kyle was smiling from ear to ear. "Wow. I could make it a fire type gym. I already have so many. I could use Charizard, Arcanine, Typhlosion, and…" He sighed. "It's a shame I don't have my other fire type."

"What other?"

"Magcargo." He frowned. "I had a shiny Magcargo that Ricky stole from me. That's the one I never got back."

"That's terrible!" I noticed Kyle's mood had completely changed. "Who knows what that creep's done with it."

"I feel so awful, that I couldn't save it. I have no idea what's happened to it." He looked away.

"I'm sure you tried your hardest though." I said, trying to cheer him up.

"I did." He smiled, trying to lighten up as well. "In the meantime, let's find our room here, then get on the training! I don't want you to fall behind."

"Already?" I complained, following behind him as we headed down the pokecenter halls.

**x-x-x**

The week of training flew by, and it seemed like we rarely left the practice arena in the pokemon center. The day rolled around for the first tournament of the league. Kyle and I were waiting in the lobby, before Bill finally stepped through the glass doors. He had a laptop in a case at his side. He had wavy brown hair, brown eyes, and wore a blue polo and a tie. He was sort of how I pictured him, though I had imagined him to have glasses like me and Kyle, and was surprised that he didn't. He walked up to us with a smile on his face, that turned to shock when he got close. I looked down at him curiously.

"Kyle," He said, looking back up at me. "You didn't mention your girlfriend was so tall."

Kyle snickered a little. I was about a foot taller than Bill, but I didn't like that that was the first thing he said.

"My apologies." He held out one hand politely. "My name is Bill. It is good to finally meet you Miss Shonna."

"Umm… same here Bill." I shook hands with him. "It's amazing that I get to meet the man who created the PC system."

"Well thank you, but it's nothing really." Bill smiled, patting his laptop case. "I had some business this week here in Hearthome City with Bebe anyway, so it was a pleasure to get to come up here and see you both." Bill gently pulled out his laptop. "Besides, Kyle said you have a request for me."

I turned to him. "I do?"

"Yes Bill. I need you to do some work to her account. Set it up like mine, so she can have more than 6 pokemon on her at one time."

"Not a problem." Bill held his hand out. "May I see your trainer card?"

"Wait hold up." I looked around nervously. "Is that legal?"

"Certainly." Bill looked up from his computer to meet my gaze. "If you meet certain conditions. Kyle tells me you do."

I still didn't really understand, but I handed Bill my trainer card anyway, and we all sat down in the lobby as he typed away.

"This shouldn't take too long." He mumbled.

Kyle wrapped his arm around my shoulder and whispered. "This way Shonna, you can keep Palkia from having to be stored away, and still use six other ones for your battles."

"Oh. That makes sense." I nodded as Bill handed back my card.

"All done. Would you like me to change around your party now while I'm logged in?"

"Uh sure." I got up to go sit beside him, and began working out a good balanced party. As I pointed to certain ones, I noticed in the corner of my eye that Kyle was looking somewhere behind us with a strange look. Then he sort of washed out and his jaw dropped. I watched him turn his head slightly and followed his gaze to the figure who was striding by us. When I saw him, my jaw dropped as well. Someone with long red hair, and a white mask over his face. His cape waved as he walked by swiftly, heading down the halls. "Was that…?"

"It was!" Kyle jumped up, running over to the Nurse Joy behind the desk. "Nurse Joy! You need to call the police. That man that just walked by, he's…"

"The Champion?" Nurse Joy was making googly eyes at the caped figure as he walked out of sight. "That's the Sinnoh Champion. He's super mysterious with that cape and mask, but also… super hot." She sighed.

I ran up to stand beside Kyle, leaning over the desk. "Nurse Joy! That man's a criminal!"

"I assure you he is not!" She huffed. "The league always does a background check on the contestants. He has no criminal record."

"He must have found a way to wipe that he was a team rocket leader then!" Kyle yelled. "Or that he's wanted right now for two counts of kidnapping, harassment, and attempted murder!"

"Are you people crazy?" Nurse Joy eyed us strangely. "If what you say is true, then I'd have to report it to the league, and the whole competition would have to be postponed until they decide if your allegations hold any truth."

"But…" Kyle stared back down the hallway, with a look of hate. "Then…"

"Forget it." I said, relaxing a little. "Forget we said any of this. We were thinking of the wrong person."

"What?" Kyle turned to me. "What are you saying? You know that was…"

"It was someone else." I turned and walked away.

"Shonna!" Kyle followed behind me. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to beat him!" I turned back around and yelled. "If I didn't have any motivation to win before, I sure do now. I'm going to beat Ricky in battle and take away his title!"

Everything was quiet for a minute, and everyone in the lobby was staring at us. Bill suddenly stood up. "Either of you want to tell me what's going on here?"

I walked up to him, lowering my voice. "That guy is Ricky Conner. He's been stalking us since, well I guess halfway through this journey."

"Stalking?" Bill's eyes widened.

"He's bad news." Kyle said. "And I don't want you going anywhere near him Shonna."

"Well I have to." I grinned. "If I'm going to battle him after all."

"Shoot." Kyle looked mad. "If you're set on this, then I'm not letting you out of my sights, you hear? You won't go anywhere without me escorting you."

"I'll try Kyle." I looked down, knowing that was best, but it would be hard to work out, during the fast paced battles.

An intercom buzzed above us, before a woman's voice spoke. "Attention everyone! The league tournament will be starting in just a few minutes. Please find out who you'll be fighting, and make your way to the appropriate stadium. Thank you!"

"This is it." I clinched one hand into a fist, and headed off to find my opponent, with Kyle and Bill close behind.

**x-x-x**

Jane held her microphone close to her face and sucked in a deep breath as Charlie aimed the camera at her. "This is Jane here, reporting to you from the Sinnoh League. We're here in the pokemon center where they're about to unveil the match ups for the tournament." The camera panned to the large monitor behind her, as it lit up with bunch of pictures, of each trainer, lined up with who they were going to face. Charlie aimed the camera across the whole screen, getting a good view. Jane looked at the board as well, with confusion, before turning back to the camera. "This is Jubilife News. We'll continue broadcasting to you all day, bringing you the latest on this exciting competition." Jane made a motion across her neck for Charlie to cut it off. "Stop filming for a minute. Charlie, I see his little blonde up there, but where's Kyle?"

"We'll now that you mention it, I don't see him on the list." Charlie looked up stupefied.

"That idiot." Jane spat. "He's just letting her win."

"The first battles will begin in 15 minutes." An announcer blared over the intercom.

"Come on Charlie!" Jane pulled him by the arm. "If we find her, Kyle's sure to be nearby."

**x-x-x**

Donna watched as her daughter appeared on the television. She successfully beat her first battle.

"Yeah!" She stood up and cheered, knocking the delcatty out of her lap.

"Del!" Delcatty rolled over, looking mad.

"Sorry Delcatty, I'm just so excited!" She sat down once more on the couch, staring at the pokeball in her hands. "She makes it look so easy. It almost makes me want to go back to battling a little." She smiled, rubbing her thumb across the red ball. "Maybe we'll give it another try sometime Clefable."

**x-x-x**

Pluto stared up at the television that was perched in the corner of the prison cafeteria. One of the burly prisoners approached him with his tray of food, and sat down beside him.

"You've been staring at the TV ever since that blonde came on. You know her?" He snickered, in a way that made him sound even more stupid than he looked.

"Not well enough." Pluto smiled, watching her defeat her second opponent.

**x-x-x**

"Alright!" Cynthia leaned forward by the tiny television, pushing Togekiss gently out of the way. "She did it again Grandma!"

"That's just wonderful." The old woman sat from the table, watching while drinking her tea. "At this rate she'll reach the elite four in no time."

"She will." Cynthia grinned. "And if she wins, she better believe I'm coming back in six months time to reclaim my title."

"You think she can beat that young fellow who defeated you?" Cynthia's grandma asked between sips.

"Possibly." Cynthia turned back to the TV. "But it won't be easy. That guy was full of tricks. Who knows what he has come up with in the past few months." She stared seriously, as Shonna walked off the stage, with Kyle close behind. "I just hope she has some new tricks as well."

**x-x-x**

"That was her fourth!" Roark called out through the Snowpoint Pokecenter. "She beat another one!"

"Amazing!" Hope snuck away from her team of Chansey to come sit by the TV. "She's really doing well!"

"Sure is." Roark leaned his arm around her, pulling her close.

Hope twisted one of her braids nervously. "Thanks for coming over today to watch this with me."

"No problem." Roark smiled. "Besides, it's my job to keep you informed for when you have to rush off and help pokemon."

"Nurse Hope!" A little boy rushed inside holding his fallen metapod.

"Right." Hope stood up, and leaned down to give Roark a kiss on the forehead. "Thank you." She ran over to the pokemon, placing it on a stretcher.

Roark blushed, holding a hand to his head. "Heh. Try not to come back during the commercials next time!"

**x-x-x**

Byron sat in his backroom beside the video phone and television. "I didn't expect her to do this well. No wonder she beat both me and Roark."

There was knock at the door.

"Come in!" Byron yelled. He turned around to see Riley and his Lucario, standing in the doorway. "Riley! You haven't come visit in ages! Is everything alright?"

"Certainly." Riley bowed. "But, there is a problem."

Byron stood. "What is it?"

"On the island, it's terrible. Me and Lucario worked for hours to fix it, but…"

Byron's eyebrows raised. "What's wrong?"

Riley laughed. "I fiddled with those rabbit ears for a hour, but I still can't get cable!" Riley pointed to the tv. "Can we watch with you?"

Byron guffawed, heading out. "Let me go get you a chair."

**x-x-x**

"I'm terribly sorry." Erika bowed. Her kimono draped to the floor. "I'm not accepting any gym battles today. Could you please come back tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" The young trainer girl yelled. "Why tomorrow?"

"Well you see," Erika glanced back behind her. "I'm watching the Sinnoh league today."

"The Sinnoh league?" The girl put her hands on her hips. "What does that have to do with anything? You're a Kanto league gym leader!"

"Yes I know." Erika bowed once more. "Terribly sorry."

"Hmph." The girl spun around and walked away. "Whatever."

Once the girl disappeared, Erika rushed back to her seat by the tv. "She did it!" Erika beamed. "She did it!"

"Odd?" An oddish crawled up into her lap.

Erika tossed the oddish up in the air, making it giggle. "She's beat all the other contestants! She's going to the Elite Four!"

**x-x-x**

Kyle watched with a smile as Shonna waved to him from the stadium.

"That settles that folks!" The announcer yelled. "Shonna will be going on to challenge the Elite Four, and if she defeats them, the Champion himself! The next battle will begin in ten minutes!"

Bill typed feverishly at his laptop as he sat in the stands beside Kyle. He was researching the Elite Four. "Tell her the first member is a bug type trainer, whose prized pokemon is a beautiful Vespiquen."

"Well that's not good." Kyle stood, watching her walk out of the stadium.

"Why?" Bill asked.

"She's really afraid of bee pokemon. I hope she's ready for this." Kyle started pushing through the crowd. "Save my spot for me Bill!"

"You know I have been!" Bill laughed.

Kyle shoved his way through the rows of people who were still standing and cheering, he was almost to the end of the stands, when a familiar reporter shoved her microphone in his face.

"Kyle Gray! You'd better tell us all right now why you didn't compete in this league! Do you have any idea how excited I was?" Jane screamed at him.

"Get out of my way Jane!" Kyle tried to shove his way past her but couldn't.

"Excuse me!" She shoved him back. "Do you know how long it took me to find you in the crowd? I'm not letting you go that easy."

Kyle peered over her shoulder and saw Shonna standing in the hall, waiting on him. She was looking down at her poketch nervously.

**x-x-x**

I looked around for Kyle from where I was standing, but couldn't see him anywhere. I only had ten short minutes to run to the pokemon center, heal my pokemon, and switch out some at the PC. And after two more minutes of waiting, I gave up and bolted down the hall.

I was running down the hallways, turning corners, when I slammed into someone. I nearly fell over, but if felt like they didn't budge. "Sorry!" I said, looking up to see who I'd bumped into. Before me, stood none other than the masked champion himself. "Oh great." I crossed my arms. "Never mind, I take it back. I'm not sorry."

He glared down at me, but didn't speak.

"You're him right?" I backed up a little. "You're Ricky. No need to hide behind that ugly mask you know. I can see your red eyes from here."

"I'm not hiding my identity." Ricky's deep voice sent chills up my spine once more. I'd almost forgotten what his voice sounded like. "It's a disguise, true, but the ladies love it."

"You're disgusting." I glanced over to the pokemon center, which was only a few feet away. "I don't have time for your games. Just leave me alone."

Ricky grinned. His mask was cut around his mouth, so I could see his expression. "Don't worry. I won't make any moves during the competition. I don't want to lose any points with these fools at the league." He waited a minute for me to respond. "Tell me. Why is it that your boyfriend isn't on the line-up? I was looking forward to another battle with him."

"He didn't want to compete."

"Too scared?" Ricky waved his red hair around.

"No! I'm sure if he'd known you were in the league, he would have jumped at the chance to take you out. But now it's too late to register, and so the honor falls to me." I smirked. "I'm going to beat you in battle Ricky."

"I highly doubt that." He grinned. "You're not half the trainer that Kyle is."

"Wanna bet? I'm going to beat you. You wait and see."

"We shall. And I'd like to take that bet."

"Fine." I thought for a minute. "Do you still have Kyle's Magcargo you stole?"

"I keep it on me at all times." He pulled back his cape, revealing five ultra balls, and one master ball, sitting next to a switchblade at his side. "Among other things."

"Then if I win, I get it back. And then I'm so busting you for everything you've done."

"You'll turn me in too?" He laughed. "My reward had better be good if I win then."

I already knew I wouldn't give him a thing if he won, but I played along anyway. "What is it you want?"

"Anything, little flower? My, if Kyle could hear you say that." He sneered. "Trust me. If I win, I'll take my reward." He turned on his heels, disappearing down the hallway.

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. I walked slowly over to the Nurse Joy, handing over my pokeballs.

"Five minutes until the next match!" The intercom announced.

"Are you ready?" Nurse Joy asked, handing back my pokemon.

"Not really." I admitted. "But I'll do it anyway." I didn't have time to do any switching, so I prayed my current party would be good enough. I walked back down the hall, spying Kyle fighting with Jane halfway down it. They all stopped to look at me as I walked by, and I stopped just long enough to give Kyle a kiss on the cheek. I giggled, running back onto the field.

"Hey Shonna wait!" Kyle yelled. But I was already taking position on the high podium. They'd switched the field to a grass field. And I could see a young boy with hair as green as the grass below, standing on the other end.

"My name is Aaron! And I'll be your first opponent of the Elite Four, and probably, your last!"


	56. Facing My Fears!

**x-x-x**  
Episode 55: Facing My Fears!

"Bold words." I said, watching the kid choose his first pokeball. _I can't be too cocky though. He's young, but he didn't get into the league for no reason._ I thought to myself as he unveiled a yanmega. "Okay. Go Rapidash!"

Rapidash locked gazes with Yanmega on the field. Both looked ready for battle.

Aaron didn't look pleased with my first choice. It put him at a severe disadvantage, and I couldn't wait to see how he would counter it. "Yanmega! Stay away from it! Launch Sonic Boom from the air!"

"Dodge!"

I watched as Yanmega twisted its body from high in the air to send bursts of wind flying down. Rapidash easily ran from each. The wind was strong enough to send chucks of the soft grass, flying up into the air. Tiny blades of grass flew upwards, giving me an idea.

"Rapidash! Set them aflame!"

Rapidash opened his mouth wide, sucking in a deep breath. He pulled to a stop, and shot a silver Flamethrower attack around the stadium. Yanmega was quick enough to miss the flames, but in it's trying to flee, it flew straight into a bunch of grass caught ablaze and floating in the wind.

"Megaaaa…" Yanmega shook off the cinders, looking weakened.

"Now's the time to strike." I leaned over the podium. "Rapidash! Bounce!"

"No way!" Aaron screamed. "There's no way it'll reach Yanmega."

Rapidash took a second to look around at his surroundings. He whinnied quietly, then kicked his foot in preparation for the charge. He took off through the grass, bouncing off a solitary tree trunk on the field. He leaped up super high. Probably higher than I'd ever seen him have to. Yanmega was still stunned from the cinders, when Rapidash got just high enough to smash his horn into the bug's side.

"Yan!" Yanmega began to fall slowly. Rapidash crashed his hooves back into the ground, and raised his head to the bug. Aaron was too stunned to react as Rapidash let out another flamethrower, hitting yanmega head on. The bug hit the ground with a thud, looking pretty fried. Aaron recalled it. At first he seemed stunned, but then he grinned.

"I can see being in the air is no advantage at all. Might as well stick to the ground." Aaron looked down at a new pokeball in his hand. "Go!"

A bright red Scizor stood before us. It looked more confident than its trainer.

"A scizor." I mumbled. "Aaron doesn't know it, but I still have an advantage here. I've trained against one for the past few months." I glanced over to Kyle in the stands. "Okay Rapidash! Crush that bug! Stomp it!"

Rapidash let out a loud whinny, and raised up his front hooves, about to bring them down on the scizor standing in front of him. Scizor dodged, as I thought it might, but it was much faster than I expected. It took me a minute to see the bug standing behind Rapidash now.

"It's fast." I smiled. "But we're faster. Try and dodge this! Rapidash! Flare Blitz!"

"Stop it Scizor!"

I watched as Rapidash charged forward, with blinding silver flames surrounding him. There would be no avoiding the attack, and Aaron must have known that. His Scizor raised up its claws, opening them up, and holding Rapidash back. They pushed and shoved at each other. Neither backed down.

_How?_ I leaned over the edge of my podium. _How is that thing not being burned alive right now?_ A closer look revealed to me the reason. "Its wings. It's blowing back the flames with its wings. Of course. It makes sense."

"Use Metal Claw!" Aaron cried.

I watched helplessly as Scizor crushed down on the grip he had on Rapidash's front legs.

"Come on Rapidash!" I held a fist in the air, trying to cheer him on. "Use your head!"

Rapidash was just close enough to ram his horn into Scizor's abdomen. He then opened his mouth to deliver a close up flamethower attack. Scizor writhed from it, and crossed his claws in a cross motion across Rapidash's face. Both pokemon backed off, looking weakened.

"Return!" I held up the pokeball high. Rapidash still had some energy left, but I wasn't about to let him fight anymore. I needed a different strategy for this one, and a different pokemon. I knew I had one member of my party who had made it a point to spar with Kyle's scizor at every opportunity. "Lucario! Go!"

"_Ah. Another battle."_ Lucario rolled his shoulder muscles when he appeared on the field. When he saw his opponent, he smirked_. "Interesting."_

_I thought you'd be the best one for the job._ I said in my head. _He's almost down, so don't overexert yourself._

"_I don't think I'll need to."_ Lucario stared at his panting opponent, then up to its trainer. _"Look. We have the kid stumped."_

Aaron stared at me strangely. "Uh… you not going to move? Then we will! Get a grip on it with Metal Claw!"

One of the things I loved about battling with Lucario, is I didn't have to speak out commands if I didn't want to. Most of the time, he would follow through with them before I even thought about it. He never ceased to amaze me. Scizor gripped onto Lucario's paws, pulling him toward him. Lucario just grinned at him, before slamming his spiked elbow into Scizor's face. Scizor didn't let loose, probably not afraid by the attack. I felt a sense of déjà vu as Lucario roared out a dark pulse attack at close range, knocking Scizor backwards.

"What?" Aaron jumped back a bit as well. "What's going on here? That pokemon reacted almost exactly the same!"

I chuckled, replaying Rapidash's battle in my head to Lucario. "This is going well so far."

"Charge Scizor! Get it with X-scissor!" Aaron screamed.

Scizor's wings flapped violently, increasing its speed as it lunged forward. Lucario stood firm, and when he was just within range, smacked his paw cross Scizor's face. The force palm was enough to knock Scizor to the ground, knocked out.

Aaron returned it with a confused look. "I don't know what's going on here. But, my next pokemon will be a little harder for your grounded one." A white light revealed a bugs silhouette in the air.

"Back to a bug flying around huh?" I mocked. "We all saw how well that worked." I choked on my words when I saw the yellow and black stripes. I felt beads of sweat start building up on my forehead. My body stiffened, going completely rigid.

"_Ma!"_ Lucario spun around to look at me. _"Don't let this get the best of you! You can handle this!"_

I saw the combee larvae wriggling under its abdomen, and it took everything in me not to run right off the stage. "A… Vespiquen."

"_Get a hold on yourself! I won't be able to beat this thing on my own you know!"_ Lucario continued to scream in my head.

"Ye-yeah." I gulped. "I know you're right, but…"

"_It's not going to hurt you." _Lucario said sternly, turned all the way to look at me. Behind him, I could see Vespiquen moving in, ready to strike him in the back.

"Lucario! Jump!" I screamed. Lucario glanced back, leaping over Vespiquen completely.

"Quen!" Vespiquen hissed out a high pitched buzz at him.

"Okay. I can do this." I gripped onto the railing on my podium, for added support. "Lucario! Strike it with an Aura Sphere!"

"Rarrr!" Lucario growled at Vespiquen, forming a ball of aura in his paws.

"Defense Order!" Aaron screamed.

"Defense what?" I stared down at the vespiquen, awaiting a response. "I've never heard of that move. Be careful Lucario!"

I watched in horror as some tiny yellow heads began to peek out from Vespiquen's abdomen. Little combee larvae wormed their way out and began stretching their wings.

Lucario let the aura sphere fly, but as it headed up to strike Vespiquen, her larvae underlings gathered in front of her. They interlocked their comb patterns together, making a giant shield. When the blast it, the baby combee cried out, before dropping like flies.

I stood there gawking at the sight. "How? I mean… that's awful! But, I guess since it's not a wild Vespiquen, it could care less about its young." I looked down at the tiny combee, laying in a heap. "Still, they're too young to withstand even a slightest hit. Good news is, she probably doesn't have any more hidden up under there." I laughed nervously.

"Attack order!"

"Uh, what?" I did a double take as more yellow bugs began worming their way out. "This is crazy! Lucario! Bone Club!"

Lucario formed a blue bone at the end of his paws. He held it up in one paw as the new baby combee began descending on him. They swarmed, surrounding him, but he was ready. At every angle they attacked, he twirled his bone shaped staff, smacking each away from him. When the last combee tried to come up behind him, Lucario grabbed the bone club in both paws, swinging it like a bat at the bee. He swung it straight into Vespiquen herself, who still loomed above.

Aaron shook his head with a grin on his face. "Heal Order."

"Are you kidding me?" I glared as more combee hiding within Vespiquen, were now giving her their energy. "Can't your Vespiquen do anything for itself? Lucario! Give it the biggest Aura Sphere you can muster!"

Lucario began charging up his attack. The blue ball in his paws grew and grew with every second.

_He'll probably use Defense Order again. _I thought to myself. _But if so, those weak baby combee won't be enough to hold back this kind of blast._ "Now!" I screamed, watching the massive ball of energy surge toward Vespiquen.

"Destiny Bond." Aaron said, crossing his arms.

"No!"

It was too late to stop it. The Aura Sphere hit its target dead on, knocking her out. I watched as she fell to the ground, amongst her young. Lucario had a look on his face that was hard to discern. I felt the link with our minds severe, as he fell backwards, passed out.

"I hate that move." I held up his pokeball, at the same time Aaron returned his own. "But I guess I did ask for Vespiquen to make a move." I began rummaging through my purse, searching for the right pokeball as Aaron tossed out a Heracross. "I wasn't prepared for a bug battle. I wish I'd known. I would have pulled Staraptor for this. She would have wiped the floor with these bugs."

**x-x-x**

Bill stared at his laptop screen intently. "Odd. She didn't change out her party for this match. Most of the ones left for her to choose from would be at a disadvantage here."

Kyle leaned over to look at his screen. It held trainer ID pictures of Aaron and Shonna, as well pictures of the pokemon currently in their party. "Bill? How are you finding that anyway?"

Bill pointed to the mega screen behind the battlefield, which showed a similar image, only the unused pokemon were grayed out. "Simple. If you find the right server, you can access the images for which ones are currently hidden. But it's no secret. Anyone fighting in the league can have access to the league database, and study up on their opponents beforehand."

Kyle turned back to the battle, watching Pikachu's picture pop up. "I guess she probably didn't have much better, but I'm not certain Pikachu was the best choice."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Bill put one finger to his chin. "Do you see the size of the horn on that Heracross?"

"Yeah, so?" Kyle looked back to the bug. "Oh! I bet I know what you're thinking."

"If my theory is correct here, that horn will probably act as a lightning rod, drawing in most of the electricity from her attacks." He paused for a minute. "This is one of her older pokemon, correct? I'm seeing on the screen that it's at a slightly lower level."

"Yeah. She's been having some of her old pokemon sent back to train with every now and then. But I would say they're still a little behind."

"Do you think she'll do it?" Bill asked, having to yell over the cheering crowd.

"Yeah!" Kyle nodded. "I think she will."

**x-x-x**

I watched as my little Pikachu scurried out to the middle of the field. Whenever I was at the daycare center, I used to keep a bow on her ear. She loved girly things. And it looked like someone, probably Angie, was keeping up with that. She had a pretty pink ribbon atop her head.

"Pika." Pikachu tilted her head cutely at the Heracross.

"Hera!" Heracross took a defensive stance, aiming his horn toward her.

"Brick Break!" Aaron cried out.

Heracross charged forward, using the wings on it's back to give the bulky bug some extra speed. It held its fists together as it hovered over Pikachu, ready to strike them down on her.

"Pikachu! Thunder now!" I knew I could use Quick Attack and dodge, but something told me to do this instead.

"Chuuuuu…" Her red cheeks sparked with static, and the clouds above the stadium darkened. Out of nowhere, a huge bolt of lighting came down, passing right through the raised horn on the still hovering Heracross. Every bit of the electricity struck it, including the discharge of the attack, which would normally just float off in the air.

"Hera…" The Heracross stayed hovered for only a second. Pikachu scooted out of the way, just before the bug hit the ground.

"Ah come on!" Aaron yelled, with a look of disbelief. "That's it! You're not beating this one." He recalled Heracross, and threw out a new pokemon. "Go Drapion!"

I didn't know much about Drapion, and I certainly didn't know they could grow to be so big. The purple beast towered above Pikachu, with giant claws it clanged together in a frightening way. I'd seen Pikachu handle some pretty big opponents. _But this one, _I thought, _might be too much for her. _I was considering recalling her, when Aaron made his move.

"Toxic Spikes!"

Drapion let loose a mound of spikes onto the field. They stuck up, with some sort of ooze bubbling out of them.

_Great, now Pikachu is my best bet because she's the smallest. I still wish I had a flying type though._ I looked down to Pikachu. "Watch out for those. Don't step on them!"

"Pi." She nodded.

"Now get in there with Quick Attack!"

"Pika!" She turned and ran for Drapion, weaving between the spikes. She leaped for him, charging up an attack.

"Pin Missile!"

Tiny pins began flying out of Drapion, shooting into Pikachu's skin.

"Cha!" She fell back, almost into one of the poison spikes.

"Get up! Quick!" I yelled. "Pikachu! Get away!"

"Pi!" Pikachu looked pretty angry, and instead leaped for Drapion. She clawed her way up the monster's head, and was about to let loose a Thunderbolt.

"Knock Off!" Aaron screamed.

"Drapion took one of his massive clawed hands, and grabbed a hold of Pikachu. But it wasn't by her body. He grabbed her by the bow on her ear. And when he slung her away, he tore it off her in the process.

"Knock off?" I scratched my head. "That's a move to get rid of held items. Maybe Aaron thought that was some sort of special ribbon, raising her attack or something, but to my knowledge it isn't."

"Pi!" Pikachu was thrown down on top of one of the spikes, poisoning her all the while. She stood up, looking weakened by it. "Pi cha, pi." She panted.

"I'm ending this now. One of my other pokemon can take care of this." I reached down for Pikachu's pokeball to recall her. I held it up, making the light beam shoot down, but Pikachu burst forward, making me miss. "Pikachu!" I watched as she flew forward, weaving between the spikes once more. She looked angry now. Really angry. "Uh oh. Drapion's done it now."

"Pik-a-chu!" She barked out, still making her way toward it.

"Drapion! Pin Missile once more!" Aaron yelled.

Pins began flying toward Pikachu, and I was worried until I saw her charge up, shooting electricity at the ones that got too close. They bounced away harmlessly. She slammed into Drapion, knocking it back a bit. She then crawled under the short gap between Drapion's legs, and latched onto his back. Drapion desperately began scraping his back with his claws, but Pikachu had found just the right spot that Drapion couldn't reach.

"Okay." I thought quickly. _Thunder might miss, plus Drapion is grounded. Best choice is… _"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"

"Pika!" Pikachu charged up and let loose the electricity stored up in her. "Chu!"

"Drapion!" Writhing under the direct blow, Drapion fell to the ground, knocked out.

As the announcer and fans around me cheered at my victory, I ran down to the field, scooping up Pikachu when she ran to me. I tried to ignore all the noise, and focused on her.

"You okay Pikachu? You've never disobeyed my orders like that before."

"Pi, pi." She sniffled a little, holding a paw up to her head.

"I know. He tore your ribbon and made you angry." I pet her head, ruffling up her fur. "Silly girl, I'll get you a new one."

"Pi? Pika!" She wrapped her tiny arms around my neck in a hug, as I carried her out of the stadium. We walked down the hall, headed for the pokemon center. I sat Pikachu down on the counter, as well as my other pokeballs, letting the Nurse Joy take them over to the healer.

"Hey!" Kyle yelled as he came around a corner. "Wait on us!"

"Us?" I looked around his shoulder to see Bill, standing nearby, fiddling with his laptop again. "Why both of you?"

"Sorry about last time." Kyle sighed. "Those reporters keep chasing us down. We've already had to switch seats 3 times."

"Here." Bill swiveled around his laptop screen, to show us a satellite image of the stadium. It was zoomed in, showing a pair of empty seats in the stands. "We can try here next."

"Great!" Kyle said as he turned back to me. "So good job out there Shonna! You've already beaten the first member of the elite four."

I wasn't really paying attention. My eyes were now focused on a poster hanging to my left. "Piece of cake."

Kyle laughed a little. "Well, no need to get over confident."

"No really!" I pointed to the poster. "That sign has a piece of cake on it. It looks like there's a food court nearby, and I'm starving!"

"Pika!" Pikachu heard me, and yelled out in agreement.

"Well," Bill flipped windows on his computer, showing us some sort of list of times. "According to the league schedule, should you win this battle, there will be a one hour break. An intermission, if you will."

"Then I will!" I laughed. "Win the next one that is."

"Your pokemon are ready." Nurse Joy said, handing them all back. I returned Pikachu and sat down at the nearby PC.

"So! What's my next challenge?" I asked.

"Ground type." Kyle turned to Bill. "Right?"

"Correct."

"Ground? Yuck." I frowned. "I guess Pikachu's out then." I sent her pokeball back. "Let's see. This one, and this one, and definitely this one."

The intercom above made a screeching noise before the man's voice came on. "The battle will resume in 5 minutes!"

"Agh!" I hurriedly switched out my team and logged off. "Okay. I'm ready. See you guys!" I yelled back at them as I bolted down the hall. "Good luck getting those seats!"

The hallway was short, and soon I was back out on the field. It had already changed to some sort of rocky field, like something you might see at the bottom of a mountain, in a desert. "Sure is dry and dull." I noted.

"Not hardly." An older woman's voice said from behind me.

"Whoa!" I jumped back. "You scared me."

"Hmm." She closed her eyes. "If you're jumpy now, I can't wait to see how you act in battle." I didn't respond, so she continued. "I'm Bertha. The second member of the Elite Four."

"Oh!" I bowed politely. "Sorry, I didn't realize."

"Of course not. You probably didn't even review your opponents at all. Just jumping into things?"

"Well, it's true I didn't take time to study you all." I smiled, even though I didn't really like her attitude.

"Young people. So foolish." She put her hands behind her back. "Your inexperience will be your downfall."

"I'm almost eighteen." I grumbled. "But it doesn't really matter to me what age my opponent is. Whether it's a green haired kid who's younger than me, or a graying woman like yourself, I'm going to win. So, you'd better be ready." I smiled, and ran out onto the field, taking my position. Bertha, took her time, walking casually over to her podium.

"And now!" The announcer yelled. "The second battle of the Elite four will begin!"


	57. A Grounded Battle!

**x-x-x**  
Episode 56: A Grounded Battle!

"Go Whiscash!" Bertha yelled, throwing her pokeball.

The blue whale just sat on the bottom of the field, wriggling around like a fish out of water.

"That's weird. Whiscash really could use some water. It's so dry out here, it won't last five minutes." I shrugged. "Oh well. Go Torterra!"

Torterra had barely had time to look around, when Bertha made her move.

"Water Pulse."

I had no worries of a water attack hitting Torterra. But I was surprised when instead of aiming it at him, Whiscash lifted its head up, shooting water into the sky. It came down in buckets, dampening the dirt around the whale.

"Ah. I see." _I can end this very quickly with a grass type move, but I've got to be careful of how she might counter. _I looked to the right of Whiscash, spying a rock, almost as tall as the pokemon itself. "Torterra! Leaf Storm!"

"Terra!" Torterra began releasing sharp leaf after leaf at his foe.

"Mud shot!" Bertha wailed.

Whiscash took one of his fins and held it back for a split second, before pounding it forward, sloshing gobs of mud at us.

"Get away!" I yelled. "Rock Climb!"

Torterra extended his claws, charging through the thick sand and dirt. He ducked and avoided the balls of mud being shot at him, and climbed right up the side of the nearby tall rock. He leaped off of it, landing on the huge blue pokemon's back.

"What?" Bertha leaned forward. "Get it off Whiscash!"

"Mega Drain!"

Torterra smiled, before chomping into Whiscash's back. It was clear from looking at the pair, that Torterra was draining away Whiscash's energy very quickly. Whiscash tried to shake him loose, but couldn't. It looked like an idea hit it, as it began to roll over. Torterra held firm, even sideways, but a few more seconds, and he would be crushed. Torterra crunched down a little harder, and the color began to drain from Whiscash. The whale stopped rolling, and remained motionless.

"The attack got much stronger all the sudden." I said as I watched Bertha return it. "I wonder if Torterra's Mega Drain is finally starting to turn into a Giga Drain."

"You just won that one because of your severe advantage." Bertha coughed. "But no more." She released a giant Rhyperior onto the battlefield.

"Umm. You know that one is just as bad right?" I laughed. "I mean, in a type disadvantage."

"Of course I know that!" The old woman screamed. "But Rhyperior is one of my older pokemon. And he'll certainly outshine yours."

"What is it with you and this age thing?" I grumbled. "Okay Torterra! Give it a Leaf Storm!"

Leaves began flying out of Torterra's back. They burst forward, and hit into Rhyperior's strong arms, which he held up in defense. Only a few of the leaves were strong enough to stick into his rock hard skin. Most of them bounced off.

"Rhy…" Rhyperior groaned, then slung his arms open, flicking away the rest of the leaves.

"Well that sucks." I hung my head a little. "But still, it had to hurt him."

"Tor?" Torterra backed up a step as Rhyperior stepped closer. Every step shook the ground, making tiny rocks break off and crumble.

My head shot back up. "Earthquake!"

Torterra slammed down his front feet. A crack began to run through the dry ground, opening up just below Rhyperior's left foot. His lower half sank into the crack, the monster squirmed to try and get out.

"Awesome! In this kind of field, that was almost like a Fissure attack." I grinned, watching Ryperior unable to worm his way free. "Rock Climb! And Giga Drain!"

"You're not doing the same trick twice!" Bertha screamed. Her head raised as Torterra climbed up another tall rock. "Stop it Rhyperior! Hyper Beam!"

"Oh shoot." I grumbled, getting Torterra's pokeball ready.

Ryperior used one arm to support himself in the fissure, then slammed the other into the rock Torterra was climbing. As Torterra began to plummet, Ryperior roared out a bright light from his throat. It hit dead on, knocking Torterra out instantly. He was withdrawn into his shell, and skidded through the dirt, eventually stopping somewhere outside the ring. I returned him, just as Rhyperior pulled himself out of the chasm.

"This one's for you Bertha!" I tossed out a new pokeball, watching as she flipped her way onto the stage. "I'll use one of my older ones."

Bertha looked distraught at my choice. "I see."

"Por?" Vaporeon turned to me, looking confused by our conversation.

_Vaporeon's one of the few water type pokemon that will do well on this kind of field. She won't dry out as quickly, and she has legs. She'll maneuver around easily. _I smiled to myself, knowing she would be a major help in this battle.

"Horn Drill!" Bertha yelled. "I want to end this quickly."

The long horn on Rhyperior's face began turning rapidly, and the beast charged forward, aiming it at Vaporeon.

There were several things I could have done, but the first thing that came to my mind, was a real risk to take. "Ice Beam!" I screamed.

"Por!" Vaporeon stood on all fours, unleashing a powerful beam from her mouth. It was bright blue, reflecting the sun. It struck the drill, at first only flicking off in shards. As Ryperior charged closer, it began to have some effect. By the time he reached Vaporeon the horn was completely frozen solid. Vaporeon jumped off the side of the ice chunk, getting behind Ryperior.

"Water Pulse!"

Vaporeon poured a stream of water at her opponent. Ryperior quickly got up and defended with his arms again, but once again, it had to be hurting him.

_This is ridiculous. How much can this thing take? If I could just hit it with a surf attack, this would be over. But there's not enough water around to do the attack. _I took a look behind Vaporeon, and something clicked. "Or is there?"

"Rhyperior! Hyper Beam!"

"Rhy!" Rhyperior charged up the beam in his throat, and lowered his arms slightly.

"Into the fissure!" I pointed to the crack in the ground that Torterra had made earlier. Vaporeon made a flying leap down into it, avoiding the Hyper Beam.

"What?" Bertha looked shocked. "She's a sitting duck now! Horn Drill!"

"More like a swimming duck." I chuckled. "Surf!"

Bertha again, looked shocked as the chasm began filling up with water. It turned into a small pool on the stadium, which Vaporeon was invisible in. Rhyperior was unable to come to a quick stop from his charge, and his horn quit drilling when he saw Vaporeon leap out of the pool.

"Por." With a simple flick of her tail, the water turned into a huge wave, which surged forward into Rhyperior. The beast was thrown back far, and ended up soaked, lying on its back motionless.

Bertha was starting to look worried now as she recalled it. "Go Golem."

A clump of rocks emerged on the battlefield, and shook its foot, looking unhappy about the puddles around it. "Golem!"

"Golem! Rollout!"

"Easy." I smirked. "Water Pulse the ground."

Golem rolled up into a ball, barreling toward Vaporeon. Vaporeon shot water out of her mouth in a stream, just in front of Golem's path. Mud began sloshing up on Golem as he rolled to a slow stop just in front of Vaporeon. All you could see of the rocky pokemon, was a pair of white eyes in the mud ball.

"Por." Vaporeon flicked the muddy ball with her tail, knocking it down into the water filled fissure. Golem was too short to get out, and fainted in the water only a moment after being immersed in it. "Poreoooon." Vaporeon yawned, looking bored.

"You've got a strong water type. That will be very helpful to you in the future." Bertha recalled her sunken Golem. "But you know, I have a pokemon that's a strong swimmer as well."

"Another Whiscash?"

"No! This pokemon is known as the Sharpedo of the desert!" As soon as she threw out her new pokemon, I had to shield my face from a blast of sand. Seemingly out of nowhere, a sand storm appeared, and standing within it, was a big hippowdon.

The arena was covered in sand within seconds, and Vaporeon stood turned away, trying not to get the sand in her eyes.

"Water Pulse!" I commanded, spitting out sand that got in my mouth.

Vaporeon squirted out a jet of water, but Hippowdon began burying into the sand, and disappeared.

"It swims in the sand." I held a hand over my eyes, squinting to see. Vaporeon's pool was gone now, filled to the brim with sand. "This isn't looking good. Vaporeon! Try to feel it out with your paws!"

Vaporeon closed her eyes, and kneaded her paws on the sand. But in the sandstorm, it was constantly shifting.

"Crunch!" Hippowdon dove out of the sands behind Vaporeon with his jaws opened wide. There was no time to evade. Vaporeon was scooped into his jaws, and drug under the sands.

"Por!" I heard her cry out.

"Vaporeon!" I leaned over the edge of my ledge, desperately searching for her. I held up her pokeball, frantically trying to recall her. Hippowdon would dive up only for a second, making it impossible. I saw Vaporeon struggling in his grip the first two times the hippo dove up, but by the third, she hung limply in its mouth.

"Enough! Call it off so I can recall her!" I yelled.

Bertha smiled, raising her hand slightly. Hippowdon saw the motion and raised out of the sands, tossing Vaporeon's body. I recalled her quickly, hoping she hadn't taken too much damage. If Bertha was right, I would need her for more battles. "You're going to pay for that." I tossed out my next pokemon, and Butterfree floated out happily.

"Free!" It twirled in the air, hovering several feet above the arena.

"I'd like to see her try a ground move on Butterfree." I laughed. "There's no way it'll work if she does."

Bertha looked up at Butterfree. "Crunch!"

Hippowdon dove up out of the sand, but it was so heavy, it didn't get very far. Butterfree floated up, looking down at the hippo like it was crazy.

"Psychic." I said calmly.

Butterfree held his little arms out, and began to glow a bright purple. Soon, Hippowdon began doing likewise, and lifted straight up out of the sand. It wriggled around, looking stunned to be floating off the ground.

"What?" Bertha stepped back in shock. "There's no way! He weighs nearly 700 pounds!"

Butterfree held his eyes closed in concentration. Once Hippowdon was high enough, his eyes flung open, and he flung the hippo into the last remaining tall rock of the arena. Hippowdon laid belly up in front of us and passed out.

"Unreal." Bertha took a few seconds before recalling Hippowdon. "Luckily." She grinned. "I saved this one for last."

"Wonder what it could be." I held a serious expression, staring at the pokeball in her hand. "It doesn't matter though. Any ground type pokemon she has won't be able to put a scratch on Butterfree."

Bertha cackled as she released it. My eyes widened when the white silhouette didn't land on the ground, but instead hovered in the air. Claws formed on it, and its purple scaly skin began to show.

"Gli! Scor!" The gliscor flapped its wings and grinned a toothy grin much like the one Bertha was wearing on her face.

"With the exception of that." I hung my head slightly, then quickly raised it back up. "Okay! We can do this Butterfree!"

"Aerial Ace!" Bertha commanded. With great speed, Gliscor burst forward, slamming into Butterfree midair.

"Ouch." I balled my fingers on the railing in front of me. "Flying type move. That's going to hurt. Butterfree! Keep it at bay with Silver Wind!"

When Gliscor charged again, it had to struggle against the gust of wind and tiny sharp particles flying toward it.

"Night Slash!"

Butterfree took just a second to rest his wings, when Gliscor lunged forward, slashing his claws across him. Butterfree fell down a little, but regained balance before hitting the floor. He looked up to Gliscor with a frown.

_Butterfree's always been my happy-go-lucky pokemon. I've never seen him look so serious._ "Hey Butterfree? You okay?"

Butterfree looked over at me and smiled. He nodded, then burst upward, surprising Gliscor and me. He flew straight into Gliscor's chin, making its head jerk back.

"Gli!" Gliscor clenched his claws together in anger. The two then engaged in an airborne frenzy of crashing into each other midair. It was wild to see them fly higher and higher with each hit.

"Hmm." I smiled a little, watching them. "Fly higher Butterfree!"

"Free!" Butterfree twirled in the air, flying up high, directly in the sun's light.

"Scor!" Gliscor held his claws up in front of its eyes. It didn't seem pleased by the light.

"Confusion!"

A purple glow surrounded Gliscor. Now that the scorpion bat was finally still, Butterfree was able to get a good lock on him.

"Gli!" Gliscor struggled to break free of the grasp, shaking all over. After a minute, it released. Gliscor seemed unscathed, but I had a feeling it might have went my way.

"Gliscor?" Bertha called out. "Use Poison Jab!"

Gliscor pointed its long tail with the double stingers forward, and aimed with horrible accuracy. Butterfree dodged.

"Scor?" Gliscor looked around the sky, totally baffled. It slammed its poison filled tail around once more. This time, it swung it into itself. "Gli!"

"It's confused." Bertha sighed.

"Gli!" Again, Gliscor hit itself with its own tail.

"Butterfree! End this self-mutilation. Give it some Sleep Powder!"

"Free Free!" Butterfree floated directly over Gliscor as it continued to pound itself. Pink dust began raining down, and in a few seconds, Gliscor's head began nodding.

"Gli…scor." It closed its eyes and fell to the ground, making sand and dirt fly up around it. It was now fast asleep.

"Very well." Bertha recalled him. "You win."

I smiled brightly as Butterfree floated down to my level. "Great Job Butterfree! You really impressed me out there!" I took his little hands in mine, and danced with him.

"Free Free!" Butterfree kicked his feet and flew happily around me.

"Amazing!" The announcer's voice rang out. Unlike Kanto, the announcer here never interrupted the battle. He only spoke before, and after it. "The second battle of the Elite Four is over folks! Once again, it's a victory for Shonna! Now they'll be a one hour intermission. We will regroup for the third battle!"

I blushed a little as the crowd cheered. I recalled Butterfree and headed for the hallway out of the stadium. I could see Kyle and Bill standing in the pokemon center lobby, talking about something. I snuck up behind them, eavesdropping a little.

Bill had his laptop under his shoulder, and was twiddling his thumbs. He looked a little nervous. "So, there's this girl who works in the Goldenrod Flower Shop back in Johto. She's the owner's daughter, and she's really pretty."

"Oh really?" Kyle crossed his arms. "You should go for it."

"You really think so?" Bill's eyes widened.

"Sure." Kyle laughed. "Don't wait around for 3 years like I did."

I giggled a little at their conversation and ran forward grabbing Kyle's arm. "Kyle! Did you see me? I won!"

"Yeah!" He turned around with a bright smile. "I saw! You really showed Bertha up."

"Indeed!" Bill nodded. "I was quite impressed with the use of your moves, and how you applied them. Using Heracross's horn as a lightning rod? Or when you froze the drill on Rhyperior's face? It must have taken careful thought to get those pulled off with such precision. Tell me, do study metaphysics as well?" Bill smiled all the while, while I stared at him clueless.

"Umm. No." I laughed. "I just guessed at that stuff."

Bill's jaw dropped a little.

Kyle chuckled before guiding me over to the pokemon center counter. "Your next type to fight is fire. Why don't you go get ready, then we'll go get something to eat."

"Yeah!" I'm sure my eyes lit up at that. I skipped over to the counter, handing in my pokemon to be healed.

"None of them need special treatment." Joy looked at the monitors as she worked. "The vaporeon got the most banged up, but she'll be fine by the end of the hour." She handed me back the other ones once they were done healing. "Would it be okay if I kept her until just before your battle?"

"Sure." I nodded. "I plan to use her again anyway." On that note, I headed over to the PC, quickly switching around my party. "Okay. Fire type huh? That's my least favorite to fight, but I'll make it work." The new pokeballs popped out of the computer, and I scooped them up and placed them in my purse.

"Ready yet?" Kyle yelled across the room.

"Yep!" I ran back up to where they were waiting. "I'm starving. Let's head over to that food court area that they're advertising. I think I saw that there's a pizza joint there!"

"Pizza?" Bill turned away. "Eh, why don't you two go on then."

"How come?" I reached down for Kyle's hand, wanting to hold it.

"I'm… lactose intolerant, pizza wouldn't be a good idea for me."

"Oh." I smiled, hoping to cheer him up. "Well we can eat somewhere else Bill. Chinese would be fine too."

Bill laughed a little. "Really, you two go on by yourselves. I think I'll stay here and research the options first." He pulled his laptop around, and plopped down on a sofa.

"Suit yourself." Kyle smiled, turning back to me. "Guess it's just you and me then."

I shifted my weight, trying to look cute as I whispered. "Truth be told, I don't mind that."

**x-x-x**

We stood in line with our trays, side by side at the pizza place in the food court. Kyle moved forward, and I unconsciously did likewise. I was thinking about the future battles.

_So the next type is fire. After that, they'll be another one-dimensional trainer who I'll have to best. Then there's Ricky. He's bound to have a variety of types, which will make things more unpredictable. But according to Bill and what Bertha said, I should be able to still find out what pokemon he has. When the time comes…_

"Shonna!" Kyle poked me in the arm. Everyone in line was looking aggravated with me, and the man in the white chef's coat in front of me was looking impatient as well.

"Oh sorry. Two of the pepperoni please." He scooped up two slices and put them on a plate for me. After paying, me and Kyle took a seat at the end of the huge room. It was a small table, only meant for two anyway.

Kyle picked up my drink cup and waved it in front of me. "Water? Or Sunyshore Mist?"

"I'm not feeling soda today."

"Water it is." He walked a short distance away, to the fountain drink dispenser.

I propped my arm up, leaning on my hand. On Kyle's plate, was two slices of cheese pizza. "Just cheese? And here I thought I was boring."

"What'd you say?" Kyle sat down my cup and placed a straw down.

"Ah, nothing darling." I smiled sweetly.

"Hmph." He smiled. "Yeah, right."

"Hehe." I munched on the first slice of my pizza, nibbling on the end. Kyle took a big bite as well, but he kept looking over his shoulder. "Hey. What's up? You seem nervous."

"Hmm?" He turned back around. "Oh. No. I'm just surprised there hasn't been any reporters to bother us yet."

"Yeah." I spoke while I chewed. "Umm… maybe they think we'd be at somewhere more fancy?" Kyle looked at me strangely. "Well you know, celebrities eat at ritzy restaurants. Not food courts."

Kyle smiled, taking another bite. "I'm no celebrity."

"I am." I grinned. "Or, at least I'm going to be, here in a couple more battles."

"Then neither of us will ever escape the press." He laughed. "But, you seem confident you'll win."

"I will Kyle!" I shoved the last bite of that first slice down my throat. "I'm not going to let that sleazy Ricky stay in position as Sinnoh's champ."

"You seem adamant about it." He lifted his gaze to look at me. "There wouldn't be any other reason you want to win so badly?"

"Well…" I poked at the other slice in my plate with a fork. "I mean, I do want to know what it feels like to be called a pokemon master, but there is something else."

"Yeah?"

"Ricky confronted me. Before Aaron's battle."

"What?" Kyle nearly jumped out of his seat. "Why didn't you mention this?"

"This is the first chance we've got to really talk." I kicked the leg of my chair nervously. "I ran into him, and he said he wouldn't try anything during the league. Might ruin his reputation."

"Those reporters keep me at bay for five minutes, and that creep runs into you. That's more than a coincidence." Kyle ran a hand through his thick brown hair. He looked really frustrated.

"That's not all." I tried to put on a smile. "I made a deal with him. I said, if I win, he'll give back Magcargo."

Kyle now looked at me with a look of anger and shock. "Magcargo's alive?"

"He said he still had him." I watched as Kyle looked away for a minute, as if he didn't know what to say.

"It doesn't matter." Kyle looked down. "It's not worth it Shonna. You can't trust Ricky. I of all people, should know that best."

"But Kyle!" I could see how much it was bothering him. "We could get your pokemon back! Think about it! Macargo could be member of your team again!" I lowered my voice. "And he'd be great for your fire type gym, if you get it."

"Of course I'd love to have him back, but I won't have you getting hurt over it." I'd never seen him look so serious as he did right then, in the middle of the league's food court. "Stay away from Ricky Shonna."

"Okay." I didn't like the tension going on here. "We don't need to fight about this."

Kyle took a deep breath. "Yeah, I know." He smiled a little, and reached his hand across the table. At first I thought he was going to hold my hand, but he picked a pepperoni off my pizza instead.

"Hey!" I reached to try and get it, but he held it back. "Give that back!"

"Come get it." He grinned, closing his lips around it.

I blushed, looking around at all the people sitting nearby. "Umm. You can have it."

Kyle swallowed it and laughed at me, getting up from his seat. "I'm done. Are you?"

"Yeah I guess so." I leaned back in my chair as Kyle took the trash and threw it out. "Battling all day really works up an appetite though."

"And just to think, you're not even to the hard part yet."

"Huh? Wait. I'm not?"

"Nope." He helped me up. "So far, everyone you've fought has been more less pushovers. It's only going to get harder from here."

"You'll still cheer for me, right?"

He held my hand, leading me away slowly. "Of course angel."

On our way out, some cameramen and two reporters shoved their way through the glass doors. When they saw us, they stopped dead in their tracks. "Hey look!" One of them said. "It's the girl who's in the league right now. And she's with the pokemon master!"

"Awesome!" Another yelled. "Who would have guessed going on lunch break would lead to this!"

As they crept up on us, Kyle motioned with his head toward an emergency exit. He gripped my hand tight, waiting on the moment.

"Surround them!" One reporter yelled. "I've heard they're extremely difficult to get an interview with!" All the reporters and cameraman began swarming us. Needless to say, we ran for it.


	58. Giving Flint Some Sparks!

**x-x-x**  
Episode 57: Giving Flint Some Sparks!

"We ditched them!" I cheered as we bolted into the pokemon center lobby.

"Yeah!" Kyle never let go of my hand. "And you still have a good twenty minutes left before your battle."

I picked up Vaporeon's pokeball from the Nurse Joy, and pocketed it. "And, I already have my party figured out too." I turned back around to face Kyle. When I did, I saw Bill, directly across the room at the pokemart area with his back toward us. "Hey look."

Kyle and I snuck up behind him, checking to see what he was looking at. The pokemart here had all kinds of goods for pokemon, but it also held tons of merchandise for the league, and plenty of souvenirs.

"Heh." Kyle chuckled. "Looking for something for that girl you like?"

"N-no!" Bill turned around looking embarrassed. "Not at all. Actually, I was looking at those." Bill pointed inside a glass case, at their collection of evolutionary stones. "I'm fascinated with Eevee you see. I've always had an affinity for the species. Being able to change their chemical make-up, and evolve in so many different ways is simply mind boggling to me. I'm constantly researching how it's done. For the most part, we have it figured out. But I still like to go back and think about our original research with these stones."

"Yeah. Eevee are neat." Kyle said, looking a little bored. "They're pretty hard to come by, but not for us."

Bill's eyes widened. "How so?"

"Our Vaporeon and Umbreon are in love with each other." I said shyly. "I wouldn't be surprised if next time I return her to the day-care center, they make another egg."

"Oh wow." Bill blinked. "Well aren't you lucky."

"You got something to eat, right Bill?" Kyle said, changing the subject.

"Yeah. I got a salad earlier."

"Is that it?" Kyle and Bill walked a few feet away while I continued looking around the store.

"Oh!" I pulled a pokeball out of my bag, pressing the button to release it. "I almost forgot Pikachu! I owe you a new bow."

"Pika!" She hopped up onto the counter, looking around at the selection.

"Miss! Please!" A male clerk came running around the corner. "No pokemon on the counters, please."

"Sorry." I picked Pikachu up in my arms and held her. "Could you show me the ribbons you may have?"

"Right here." He pulled back a shelf, which revealed a ribbon hanging in every color.

"Chaaaaaaaa!" Pikachu's eyes brightened at the sight.

"Those are nice." I looked up to a shelf high above. "But I see some more up there. What's up with them? They have much higher price tags."

The guy looked up as well. "Oh those? They cost more because they have special traits."

"How so?"

"They're infused with the powers of certain berries, making them much more valuable in battle." He reached for a hook and pulled one down. "Take this pink one for example. It has pecha berry extract in it, so it can help prevent poison."

"Really?" That intrigued me. "How about that sky blue one up there?"

He pulled it down and handed it to me. "It's a rawst ribbon. It will help keep a pokemon from getting burned."

"We could use that against the fire type trainer coming up." I tied it around Pikachu's ear in a cute bow, and held her up to a mirror. "Like it?"

"Pi! Pi" Pi!" She nodded and shook her tail in happiness.

"1000 pokedollars." The clerk held out his hand.

"Here." I gave him the cash. "If it works, it's worth it."

"I assure you it does." He printed out a receipt. "There's even a money back guarantee."

He tried to hand me the receipt, but I was zoning out, looking down into the glass case beneath me. "Just one second."

"Pi?" I sat Pikachu down, and hunkered down to her level.

"Hey Pikachu. These next few battles are going to be really tough. We'll need every advantage we can get. I've never needed to ask you this before, but the extra bit of power would come in handy." I brushed back some of my hair that was falling in front of my face. "Would you consider, evolving?"

"Pi?" Pikachu looked a little taken back by the question.

"If you don't want to it's perfectly fine." I pet her head, scratching behind her ear. "You're great as is too. I just wanted to see how you felt about it."

"Pi…" Pikachu put a paw under her chin, as if she were thinking. I couldn't blame her though. It was a big decision. After a minute, she smiled and patted her paw against the case. "."

"Really? You'd do it?" I laid more money on the counter. "One thunderstone please."

"Right away." The man said, wrapping one up for me. I took it in my hands, and leaned back down to her.

"You sure about this? You can't take it back."

"Pi." She nodded again, holding a smile the whole time. I unwrapped the thunderstone and held it out to her. At first, she sniffed at the object, before finally placing her nose on it. A bright white light surrounded her, finally shaking Bill and Kyle's attention over to us. We all watched in awe as her tail lengthened, with a long, cord like shape. She got bigger, but not as big as I thought she would. I could still pick her up if I wanted to. Her yellow fur changed to an orange color with brown patches. And her ear's changed from points on her head, to large lobes, with curls on the ends. "Rai?" She stared up at me with the same cute face I remembered from before.

"Hey there little Raichu!" I picked her up, watching her tail wrap around my arm. "What do you think of your new look?" I loosened the light blue ribbon around her ear, and showed her herself in the mirror.

"Very pretty." The clerk complimented.

"Certainly!" Bill ran up to us. "I always love to see a pokemon evolve. So cool!"

"Rai rai." She looked a little embarrassed at all the attention.

Kyle frowned a little as he approached. "You evolved her?"

"Yeah. She seemed like she wanted to." I lifted her, adjusting my hold on her. "You don't weigh much more at all Raichu."

"Rai." She nodded, letting out some static.

"Hmm." Kyle smiled now. "I hope Pichu recognizes you." He pet her head, making more static pour out. "I'm sure he will though."

"Raiiii…" She curled her tail around me tighter.

The intercom turned on, surprising us. "The next battle will be underway in ten minutes! Everyone please find your seats, and trainers, please make your way to the stadium!"

"Guess that's me." I gripped Raichu tighter. "Good luck finding seats you guys!" I rushed off down the hall, headed for my position in the arena.

Kyle shook his head and smiled. "Evolving her Pikachu after all this time. That sure was a shocker."

"Mhmm." Bill laughed. "So you say you know this next guy she's fighting?"

"Yeah, we haven't known each other very long, but I guess you could call us friends."

"Does she know she's fighting him?"

Kyle laughed now. "Actually, I don't think she has a clue. I guess now it's her turn for a surprise."

**x-x-x**

I waited by the railing, leaning on it in every position as the clock counted down. "Man, where is this guy? Or girl. Whoever the trainer is, they are way late."

"Rai." Raichu sat at my side, looking bored as well. I returned her to her pokeball, to avoid having to hear her yawn again.

"One minute until the battle starts!" The announcer coughed out. "If the trainer doesn't show, we'll continue on to the next member!"

"I wouldn't mind that, but it would be kind of a bummer. I'm all pumped to fight this person."

"Just hold your Rapidashes! I'm coming!" A familiar voice yelled. I could see his ball of red hair from the other end of the stadium, and knew just who he was.

_Flint? __What__'__s __he __doing __here? __Now __that __I __think __of __it, __he __was __supposed __to __be__ competing. __He __said __so __anyway. __But __what__'__s __he __doing __at __a __time __like __this? _I stood straight up now. "Hold up. Don't tell me you're the fire type enthusiast of the elite four!"

"That'd be me!" Flint ran up to his side of the stage. "I'm not late right?"

"But," I gasped. "I already fought you!"

"Ah, but that was an official gym battle, not a league battle." Flint grinned, running a hand through his hair. "Did you miss me Shonna?"

"Not hardly!" I yelled. "I can't believe you're the guy I have to fight! But at least this way, I already know almost all of your pokemon!"

"True." Flint smirked. "But there is one you don't know. Go Infernape!"

Within seconds, a monkey with flames ablaze on his head stood before me. He looked tough. "Yep. That's definitely a new one."

Flint put his hands on his hips. "Infernape evolved from the Chimchar I started my journey with. Choose wisely."

"If you start strong, so will I." I threw out my pokeball. "Go Vaporeon!"

Vaporeon looked ready for battle, but then again, so did Flint's Infernape.

"Just so you know, I'm not going to go easy on you." Flint grinned. "Infernape! Mach Punch!"

Before I could say a command, Infernape was in front of Vaporeon, delivering a hard punch to her face. She flew backwards, hitting her side, but jumped up, shaking off the pain.

"Well that wasn't nice." I frowned. "Vaporeon! Water pulse!"

Vaporeon shot a huge spray of water at Infernape, who was hit, cringed a little, then flipped out of the way. Amazingly, Infernape didn't seem too hurt by the blast, even though he was still dripping with water.

"Close Combat!"

"Keep up the Water Pulse!"

I watched closely as Infernape ran in to deliver a flurry of punches and kicks. The attack was hurting Vaporeon, but also left Infernape completely unguarded against the jets of water she was spraying at him. Even through all this, Infernape looked like he was doing okay. Only making a slow decline in health. "What's going on here?" I asked aloud. "A fire type shouldn't be whooping up on a water type this bad." I was beginning to wonder if that training in the hot springs had caused all this. "Not good. I need a second to think. "Vaporeon! Bite!"

As Infernape went in to kick Vaporeon again, she latched her jaws around his leg, clamping down hard.

"Ape!" Infernape screamed, drawing back away from her.

_Okay.__So__ Water __Pulse__ is __only __doing __so __much. __That __bite __looked __like __it __had __to __hurt __though. __Shoot. __I __wish __Vaporeon __could __use __Surf __right __now,__ but __unlike __Palkia, __she __needs __an__ outside__ source __to __create __that __much __water. _I watched as the two stared each other down, and the flames on Infernape's head rose higher as Blaze ability kicked in. "Oh! Maybe…"

"Flame wheel!"

"Vaporeon! Freeze this whole place!"

This time, Vaporeon moved faster, and began twirling around, freezing the entire grass field. Infernape stopped charging up for the attack, and just jumped out of the way as Vaporeon used ice beam to coat the floor he was under. Infernape slipped on the ice, and looked up to his trainer for help. But Flint looked just as bewildered as he did.

Skating across the ice, Vaporeon came around to Infernape's side, and shot another Water Pulse at him. The poor monkey struggled to slide away from it.

Flint looked angry to see his pokemon looking so humiliated. "This is ridiculous! Infernape! Just get rid of all that with Heat Wave!"

"Ape!" Infernape screamed, letting out a gigantic breath of hot air that melted all the ice in the stadium, leaving huge puddles everywhere. Not only that, but a vast layer of steam floated up, making it difficult to see. All I could see was Vaporeon, and Flint on the other side of the stadium. From the way he was trying to stand on his toes and look around, I assumed he couldn't see my pokemon either.

The steam was beginning to rest, forming small droplets of water on Vaporeon's skin. "Surf!" I called. Vaporeon closed her eyes and manipulated all the water and steam around her, into one giant mass, floating in the air.

"Poreon!" She threw it across the gym, creating a wave that cut through the fog. Though the Surf attack was small, Infernape never saw it coming and was thrown backwards in it. It was much more damaging then the Water Pulse attacks from before, and when the smoke cleared, Infernape was passed out on the ground.

"Yes!" I cheered quietly, inaudible in the audience's response.

"Go Flareon!" Flint was quick to recall Infernape, and sent out a Flareon, that looked about the same age and size as my Vaporeon.

"Flar!" Flareon growled.

"Por." Vaporeon stepped backwards, looking defensive.

I struggled not to let my guard down from Flareon's cute appearance. "Water Pulse!"

"Fire Fang!"

Flareon rushed in, ignoring the water that was hitting her, and bit hard on Vaporeon's leg, pushing embers down on her with her fangs. Vaporeon stopped shooting out water, and tried to shake her off.

"Bite back!" With that, Vaporeon bit down on Flareon's rear leg. Both looked reluctant to let go, but when Vaporeon added in a bit of Water Pulse at the same time, it was too much for Flareon. She jumped back, and both pokemon began nursing their wounds with a few licks. "There's no such thing as a water fang move, but that worked well." I smiled. "Do that again Vaporeon!"

"Smog!" Flint cried.

Vaporeon rushed in, only to have Flareon cough out a breath of poisonous gases in her face. Vaporeon reeled back, shielding her eyes from the toxins in the air.

"Water Pulse!" I shouted. I was sure with an attack like that, his next move would be a fire type one, if only to create a more powerful one in the gases.

"Quick Attack!" He called out, surprising me. Vaporeon was prepared to put out a blast, but before she could, Flareon slammed into her, knocking her down.

"Last Resort!" Flint yelled with a smile.

"No!" It was too late to stop it. Flareon screamed out a loud cry, covering itself in and orb of light that it threw into Vaporeon, it made shattering sounds, and a blinding light that made my eyes hurt. When it dissipated, Vaporeon was on the ground, unmoving. I recalled her, knowing full well what Flint's strategy was now. "Last Resort is a devastating move." I said quietly, reaching for the next pokeball. "But only if you get a chance to use it. Go Raichu!"

It almost surprised me seeing how large my new Raichu was in comparison to her previous state. It was definitely something that was going to take some getting used to.

"Smog!"

"Crap! I need to act fast! Raichu needs to beat it in less than three turns." I slammed a fist against the railing, trying to make my brain fire a mile a minute. "Raichu! Thunder!" A lightning bolt came down on Flareon, but Flareon dodged by jumping out of the way. I clinched my fingers around her pokeball, waiting for Flint's next move.

"Fire Fang!"

Flareon burst forward and bit hard into Raichu's long tail. She pushed fire down onto Raichu, but the small embers bounced off her tail, and Flareon let go, looking at it stunned. The rawst ribbon had actually worked.

"Again! Thunder!" This time, the electricity hit its mark. Flareon was too close to avoid it. But amazingly, she was still standing after it. Panting, and her fluffy fur was singed on the edges. I already knew that if she was still standing, Flint would make his move. But I beat him to it. We both issued our commands at virtually the same time.

"Quick Attack!"

When two pokemon use Quick Attack at the same time, it really all comes down to who has more speed. Raichu was a bit faster, and certainly hit Flareon harder. Flareon was knocked over, trying to get back up.

"Last Resort Flareon!" Flint ordered. But Flareon was too weak, and her head hit the ground. He recalled her, and I let out a relieved sigh. But I couldn't relax yet, as he released his Rapidash.

Raichu stood looking ready for another battle, so I left her in. "Quick Attack!"

"Fire Blast!" As Raichu began running forward, Rapidash unleashed an x-shaped blast of flames. My Raichu had trained with my own Rapidash often though, and knew how to avoid it. She ducked under, then leaped out of the flames, slamming into Rapidash. She got behind Rapidash when he stumbled, and shoved her long tail against his side.

"Thunderbolt!" Electricity surged out of Raichu, directly into Rapidash.

"Take Down!" Flint barked, looking worried at this point.

"Run!" I ordered. Raichu began racing around the stadium, with Rapidash hot on her heels. I had to do something to stop Rapidash in his tracks. "Flash!"

It was not a move I used often. Raichu turned mid run, pressing her paws to her cheeks. A bright light blinded everyone, including me. Which was not good. I could hear some crashing sounds, and the whinnying of Rapidash. As the light started to subside, I could see sparks in the middle of the stadium. I wasn't even sure how it had happened, but Raichu stood on top of a knocked out Rapidash, static still sparking out of her cheeks.

Flint recalled Rapidash with a knowing sort of smile. "I must say, I'm impressed! I didn't believe Kyle when he said you were just as good a battler as you are at making those poffin things."

"Hmph." I crossed my arms. "It's all because I have very strong pokemon. And a little skill." I smiled at the last part.

"I can see that." He said a little quieter. "But that ends now!" He dropped down a new pokeball. The one that held his magmortar. The monster towered above Raichu, but she didn't seem scared.

"Magmortar! Fire Punch!"

"Dodge! Quick Attack!" Raichu ran right, easily getting away from the listless moves of Magmortar. He was just too slow on his feet. He couldn't keep up. "Thunder!" Raichu stood a fair distance away, and brought down a lightning bolt on Magmortar as he ran for her. He took the hit, but kept running, eventually, he landed a punch on her that sent her backwards, but again, didn't burn her. "That rawst ribbon is amazing." I said under my breath.

"Magmortar! Finish this with Fire Blast!" Flint ordered, with a cocky smile on his face.

"Dodge!" Raichu again, knew how to leap out of the way of the blast. But unlike before, Magmortar was powerful enough to keep up the blast going and moved his cannon-like arm to chase after Raichu.

"Hyper Beam!" Flint screamed.

As I was trying to comprehend this, Magmortar lifted his other arm, and a white light emerged inside.

"Raichu! Look out!" I screamed. But it was hopeless. As Raichu was running to get away from the flames behind her, she wasn't even focused on what was in front of her, and ran right into the path of the Hyper Beam. She tripped, sliding across the ground. She didn't move. "Return!" I said, holding up her pokeball. "It's at this point I wish I could use Palkia…" I whispered. "But I can't. Go Duchess!"

My persian slinked her way across the grass, in the seductive way she always did. It made me smile just to see her looking ready to play up the charm.

"Same strategy!" Flint yelled. "Fire Blast and Hyper Beam!"

"That won't work twice! Duchess! Dig!"

Duchess tore into the soft earth with her claws, digging her way under before the flames could hit her. Magmortar stopped that attack, but kept charging up the Hyper Beam, and staring at the ground. He was trying to tell where she was. Every now and then she would come closer to the ground, shaking dirt on the surface, and making Magmortar point his arm to the ground nervously. One time, she clawed through the surface, then quickly when back down, causing Magmortar to release the blast prematurely. He began breathing heavily, tired from using Hyper Beam twice, and his break to rest served us well. Duchess was tunneling under him all the while. Before Magmortar could regain his energy, the ground fell through beneath him, and Duchess leaped out of the dirt, slashing him with her claws. The ground type move was highly effective, and with Magmortar weakened anyway, he didn't move out of the hole in the ground.

Flint recalled him out of it. He didn't say anything now, but released Houndoom anyway.

"And here's where we get to have some fun. Duchess! Attract!" I smiled, watching the dog go from baring his fangs at her, to a playful puppy love sort of look.

**x-x-x**

"Oh you've got to be kidding!" Flint yelled, pulling on his afro full of hair. "Snap out of it Houndoom!"

"I know how you feel Flint." Kyle nodded, watching the scene unfold from the stands. "She's used that move on me so many times."

"How so?" Bill laughed.

Kyle frowned. "I'm serious. That move almost cost me my first championship title!" He turned back to the battle. It was exactly how he expected. Houndoom stood there lovestruck, as Duchess slashed him to pieces, and there was nothing that could be done to stop the onslaught. Until eventually Houndoom fainted, right there, without ever making a move.

"That girl is certainly something." Bill said as the crowd cheered, and the announcer declared her victory. "She doesn't even know all the scientific formulations she's using in battle."

"Oh trust me." Kyle groaned. "She knows the chemistry her persian has with every male species she meets."

"Not that." Bill held a finger to his chin. "I'm talking about earlier, when she used Infernape's own move to be its downfall in the production of steam and water. Or when she processed the difference in speed when Flareon and Raichu both used Quick Attack, or…"

Bill continued to go on with his theories, while Kyle watched her head out of the stadium for her break, heading off to heal her pokemon, and get new ones. She stopped, staring up at him in the stands, and though he couldn't hear it over the audience, she mouthed the words, 'What's next?'.

"Bill. Who's the next Elite Four member?"

"Huh?" Bill stopped mid sentence. "Lucian. Psychic type."

Kyle tried to think of how best to show that. He pointed to his head, making her laugh, and give him the thumbs up.

He stood up, trying to get over to her, but she held her hand up and shook her head no, before heading down the hall. He sat back down, but couldn't get comfortable. For every minute she was alone, he worried she would run into Ricky again. He stood up again, looking down at Bill. "Save my seat, okay?"

Bill sat his laptop in the empty spot where he'd sat. "Sure."

**x-x-x**

"Lucian." I said, scrolling down the page on the PC screen. "Psychic type. Thought so." I dragged and dropped my pokemon from my pc box, hoping I'd not made any hasty decisions. So far things had been going my way. And I didn't want to get so close to fighting Ricky, only to lose on the battle before him.

I sighed, ready to close out of the window, when a man's shadow was cast over me and the PC screen. I tensed up, first suspecting it was Ricky, but then I laughed it off and turned around, guessing it was only Kyle. I was wrong on both counts. A man dressed in a red violet colored suit, with wavy lavender hair stood over me. He pushed up the large framed glasses on his face, looking down at my screen.

"Umm… do you need to use the PC?" I asked, trying to be polite.

"Please." He sneered. "Unlike some people, I do my research on my opponents long before I go to battle them."

I swiveled in my chair to look at the screen. The picture on the bio matched perfectly. "Oh! You must be Lucian! Can't wait to battle you. You have a really good party of psychic types."

"I don't need you to tell me that." His eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms. "Listen. Aaron and Flint are pushovers. And by some miracle you beat Bertha. But don't count on winning against me. I've already figured it up, and it's highly improbable."

"That a fact?" I said crossing my arms as well. "What makes you so sure?"

"You want to know why Cynthia held her title so long? She never had to fight anyone, that's why. None of the challengers make it past me."

"What about our current champ?" I snapped. "He obviously made it past you."

Lucian didn't say anything to that. As if I wasn't worth any more of his time, he strode off towards the stadium. I watched as he left. "If Ricky can beat you, I can too." I felt the tension ease away as Flint ran down the hallway, crossing paths with Lucian.

"Hey man! Good luck out there! Show her what the Elite Four's made of." He held his hand up in a motion for a high five, but Lucian made no move to oblige him.

"A bunch of idiots. That's what it's made of." Lucian grumbled, continuing his walk.

"Geez. What a jerk." Flint shook his head, before running over to me. "Hey! Great battle! You really got me good there at the end."

"Thanks." I smiled, logging off the PC. "But I thought I was going to lose when I found out about that Last Resort move."

"Just a heads up for you." Flint leaned in closer, whispering. "Lucian has a Espeon that knows that too."

"Good to know." I smiled, looking down. "Hey Flint, you didn't like… let me win, did you?"

"What? No way!" Flint looked shocked that I'd even suggested it. "Believe it or not you were really that good."

I smiled again, and even more when I saw Kyle come down the hall.

"Shonna!" He said, out of breath. "Announcer said you had five minutes."

"Don't let me keep you then." Flint said, starting to walk away. Once he was out of sight, Kyle wrapped his arms around me.

"Right. Because that's my job."

"Kyle!" I blushed, shoving him away. "You can't make me late either. If I'm going to beat this guy, I'd better go now!" I giggled squirming out of his grip, and running back outside. Kyle walked calmly behind me, but turned to look back. He felt someone's eyes on him, but no one was around. He frowned, turning back and walking to the stands.


	59. Winning or Lucian!

**x-x-x**  
Episode 58: Winning or Lucian!

_A generic steel floor for this field. And I'm fighting a psychic trainer named Lucian. A wealthy man who hardly ever loses a battle. The computer said he has some kind of special technique that got him into his position here. I wonder what it could be?_

I watched Lucian's every move as the clock counted down to our battle. The announcer was saying something, but during this, and really all of my battles, I couldn't pay attention to it. The only thing that mattered was when he said it was time to start the battle. And soon enough, that moment came.

Taciturnly, Lucian threw out his first pokemon, the Espeon I was expecting.

"Staraptor!" It was perhaps not the most effective choice, but I needed something that could take the Espeon out, and fast.

Lucian smiled, almost as if he'd already won. He stood motionless on his side of the stadium, awaiting my move.

His cocky grin was worrying to me. It wasn't the same kind of expression that Flint had, with an air of overconfidence. This guy was certain, and everything in his stance showed it.

"Brave Bird!" I cried, not waiting anymore. Staraptor folded in her wings and took aim at the grounded Espeon. As she drew near, the fur stood up on Espeon, and at the first wave of wind, she dodged, making Staraptor hit the floor hard. She got up quickly, and turned around with wings spread. It wasn't enough time to stop Espeon's Quick Attack to the gut. Staraptor wobbled on her feet, then took flight to escape.

"What the?" I leaned forward. "What just happened?" I shook it off and made my next move. "Again Staraptor!" And again, the Espeon dodged gracefully, and Staraptor less than gracefully hit the floor. "How is this happening?" This time, Espeon landed a bite attack to her foot, but let go when Staraptor took flight once more. "That's obviously not working." I groaned. "Wing Attack!" Staraptor swung her wing, bringing down a gust of wind that Espeon jumped away from with ease. This time, Espeon released a flurry of stars to the air in the form of a Swift attack. Each hit Staraptor hard, and it just kept coming. "Staraptor! Blow them away with Aerial Ace!" This attack knocked away the Swift, and knocked Espeon back a bit as well. It's an attack that hits without fail, but it still looked as though Espeon had somehow maneuvered to where it caused the least amount of damage. Meanwhile, my Staraptor was panting heavily from the air.

Espeon then formed the orb I recalled as being part of Last Resort, and this one was much more powerful than Flareon's. It was at this point I realized Lucian had yet to even issue a single command. Last Resort knocked Staraptor out cold when it hit, and I recalled her immediately. I looked over to Lucian, who was now casually flipping though a book. _He__'__s __reading? _This annoyed me to no end. Before releasing another one, I took a moment to pause and think aloud. "So, how is it that your Espeon is so good at dodging attacks with good accuracy?"

Lucian slammed the book shut and shook his head. "As I said before, a bit of research would serve you well. It would have been to your benefit if you'd known about Espeon's ability to read air currents with its ultra sensitive fur."

"Well now I know." I crossed my arms, having a new pokeball in one hand. "I just chose the wrong pokemon. That won't happen again." I pressed the button and let out Lucario. He bounded across the floor, getting right up to Espeon and standing over her in an intimidating way.

Espeon didn't cower, and instead tried to land a bite to his heels. Lucario jumped back, and when Espeon made a second attempt at closing in on him, I made my move.

"Dark Pulse!" Waves of dark energy spilled out across the floor, hitting Espeon especially hard since she was too close to avoid. Lucian's eyebrows furrowed in a suspicious way as he looked down on his fallen Espeon. It was taken down with that single hit.

As he recalled it, he spoke up. "I've heard the Lucario is one of your strongest."

I didn't answer, but my mind raced_.__I __still __don__'__t __understand. __How__ do__ his __pokemon __know __just __what __moves __to __use? __Are __they __acting __of __their __own __accord?_

"_Of__ course __not.__"_ Lucario's voice echoed through my brain. _"__It__'__s __pretty __obvious __he__'__s __using __ESP.__"_

"He is?" I accidently said it aloud, making Lucian look up from choosing his next pokemon. He again eyed me suspiciously. _You__'__re __saying__ he__ can __use __telepathy __with__ all __his__ pokemon?_

"_I__'__m __fairly__ certain.__" _Lucario paused for a moment, looking at the Mr. Mime that now stood before him. _"__Yes.__ Definitely.__"_

_That__'__s__ just __great._ I complained inwardly. _I__'__ve__ only__ dealt__ with__ that __once __before, __against __Sabrina,__ and __I __had__ Kyle __to__ help__ me __throw __her __off._

"_Well,__" _Lucario smiled, looking back at me briefly_.__ "__You __do__ have __me.__"_

"Yes I do." I said quietly. "Lucario! Return!" I recalled him back without a moment's notice, leaving Lucian with an even more confused and frustrated look. My next choice was Rapidash. _I__'__ll__ save__ you__ for __later __Lucario.__ For__ now,__ I__'__ll __leave __it__ to __someone __else __who __can __take __care __of__ this._ Rapidash was perfect for this. He was my strongest by far, and had the most training. So much so, that he didn't need much guidance to know what I needed from him.

Mr. Mime built up a strong Psybeam and released it.

"Flamethrower!" Rapidash pushed out flames from his mouth that combated it, and eventually forced the beam away in a show of strength, making it come back on Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime writhed in the heat, but looked determined to win. I wondered to myself what Lucian might be saying to him right now. This time, Mr. Mime waved his arms in a bizarre motion, then stopped, completely motionless. I stared closely at the pokemon, spotting some bizarre qualities. Rapidash cocked his head at the creature, unsure of what to make of it. "It's a fake! Run now!" I screamed.

Without question, Rapidash took off, effectively dodging Mr. Mime's next Psybeam. He kept building up speed. The silver flames on his mane and tail grew, and he turned to face Mr. Mime. "That's right! Flare Blitz!"

I saw Lucian grit his teeth and Mr. Mime waved his handed around once more, then stood with them held up. The flames that were drawing closer reflected light in front of him, and the Light Screen became present.

_So __that__'__s __his __game._ I thought to myself_.__He__'__s __listening__ to __me __say__ my __orders, __then __telling __his __pokemon__ how __to __counter __accordingly. __I __need__ to __do __something__ that __will__ stump __him._ I smiled, remembering how I used to train Rapidash to learn the move Bounce. "Jump the hurdle!"

Lucian's face was priceless. You could tell he couldn't process it quickly enough. Rapidash slammed his hooves down, making him take to the air, far over 's invisible wall. Mr. Mime's face was full of shock as well, as the mighty horse slammed down on him in a mound of fire and heat. Mr. Mime was knocked out instantly, and Rapidash let out a happy whinny as he stepped off the pokemon.

Mr. Mime was returned, and a Bronzong was sent out, which I immediately thought was strange. _Steel __type __against__ Fire.__ Shouldn__'__t__ be__ a__ problem._Bronzong started out with some sort of pink glow that grew, then fizzled out at some point. I actually laughed at it, thinking perhaps Bronzong was out of energy already. "Flare Blitz!"

Bronzong beefed up for the attack with what I took to be Iron Defense. Even still, taking the hit head on was suicide, and Bronzong barely survived it. The arena was still for a moment, until I noticed tiny pebbles and cracks forming in the floor. "Bounce!" I screamed. Rapidash jumped off Bronzong's head, making the pokemon hit the ground hard, and completing the Earthquake attack. The ground shook, and Rapidash from the air, wasn't hurt at all. "Flamethrower!" I used the opportunity to have Rapidash push down flames on top of Bronzong, and the pokemon fell to the ground. When Rapidash came back down on it, it was over.

"Yeah!" But as I cheered, a pink glow surrounded Rapidash, and he choked out a cry. It tightened around him and constricted, until eventually he fell as well. Both pokemon were knocked out, and Lucian looked quite pleased with himself. "I hate Future Sight." I grumbled.

His next choice, a Gallade. Mine, was Luxray. The pair stared each other down, taking defensive stances. And then Gallade rushed forward locking his sword like arms against Luxray's claws and teeth. They duked it out like that for a while, not really getting anything accomplished. "Thunder Fang!" But Gallade anticipated it, and slashed Luxray's head away before he could do any damage. "Dodge this. Shock Wave!" The electricity did hit Gallade hard, but none of it seemed to be doing much to end this battle soon. "I need to use dark moves." I mumbled. "And he has one. But first… Luxray! Iron Tail his legs! Then use Thief!"

He did as he was told, distracting and bewildering Lucian. Gallade fell to the ground, tripped by Luxray's tail. Luxray then pounced him, biting down hard on Gallade's arm. He didn't steal anything from Gallade, besides maybe a little of his dignity, and a lot of his energy. Gallade flipped Luxray off, and slashed across his face with psychic energy. A Psycho Cut.

Luxray shook off the pain, and growled at Gallade. Gallade came in for a ton of punches and kicks all the sudden, and I knew it was Close Combat. Until Gallade stopped, he was left open to attack. And I used that moment to have Luxray deliver a Thunder Fang to his side. Gallade fell under the electricity, and even though he was down to only one pokemon, Lucian didn't seem fazed as he recalled Gallade.

His next pokemon, and last, was an Alakazam. There was something instantly foreboding about Alakazam's expression. He looked just as calm and collected as his trainer.

"Thief!" I called, hoping to get the first strike. But as Luxray drew nearer, Alakazam raised his spoons up. Luxray snatched one and bounded away, but stopped midstride, held by a strong confusion attack. The twisted spoon came back almost magically to its owner, and Luxray was helpless against the strain of psychic energy holding him in the air. It lifted him up, and slammed him down. A couple times of this had Luxray incapacitated in no time.

"That one's strong. Its psychic abilities look even stronger than my Butterfree's." I said, recalling Luxray.

"Alakazam has been with me for a very long time." Lucian looked down at his pokemon endearingly. "We're very close." He said, implying to me that his ESP was probably strongest with it.

"Well," I smiled. "I have a pokemon I'm very close to as well." I hinted, letting Lucario back out onto the floor. He looked back at me momentarily, then kept his head straight, watching Alakazam closely. "Dark Pulse!"

Lucario roared out his dark attack once more. But this time it didn't knock the pokemon out. Alakazam was going to take several hits of that. The pokemon smiled at Lucario, and Lucario suddenly held a look of disbelief.

"Again Lucario!" I screamed.

"_I__ can__'__t.__" _He said quietly.

_Huh?__ Why__ not?_ I thought.

"_He… he disabled it." _

_Seriously?__ That__'__s__ your__ best__ move __here__ though!_ I began panicking a little on the inside.

"_Calm down Ma!" Lucario yelled. "We have another advantage here. You can speak to me through aura. Do that. Lucian will never guess your moves then, and we can beat this arrogant intellectual."_

"Hmm." I smiled, crossing my arms again. "Sounds like a plan."

Lucian gave me a bored stare, before looking down to Alakazam and issuing a move.

I could tell it was going to be a psybeam. _Lucario! __Aura __Sphere!_

With that, Lucario's quick moves beat Alakazam to it, and the attack blew up in his face. Lucian's eyes flew open and he looked up to me in shock.

_Lucario! Now's our chance! Before he figures it out, let's give him everything we've got! _

"_You __got __it__ Ma!__" _I went through an entire battle plan in my head, and never spoke a bit of it. I watched as Lucario formed a huge Aura Sphere in front of Alakazam and threw it at him. It was too big and bright for anyone to see that Lucario was right behind it. So when Alakazam used his confusion to knock the ball away, he was taken by complete surprise when Lucario jumped at him with Bone Club in hand. He whacked it into the side of Alakazam's head, then used his other arm to force palm him back. Alakazam stepped back, and looked up to his trainer, unsure of what to do. Lucian's jaw was set and hanging loosely. And seeing him jaw-dropped was strangely satisfying to me. Alakazam turned back to us in anger, and began to glow a deep magenta color. He was preparing for a Psychic attack.

_Shoot! We're dead!_

"_Not__ yet.__" _Lucario grinned. "_Guess__ what__'__s__ back.__"_

I grinned now as well. _Dark __Pulse!_

As the wave of psychic energy spread forward, a wave of dark energy hit it hard, overpowering it, and it continued to spread to Alakazam. He fell backwards in the massive wave, and never got back up. The crowd cheered, and the announcer declared my victory. I ran down and hugged Lucario. As I looked over my shoulder, I could see one person who didn't look happy. Lucian had a sour look on his face. He recalled Alakazam, tucked his book under his arm, and walked out wordlessly.

I recalled Lucario, and chased after him. He headed straight down the hall to the pokecenter, dumping all his pokeballs in a heap on the counter.

"Hey! Good match." I said cheerily in line behind him.

"What's your secret?" He asked quietly when Nurse Joy left. "How did you defeat me so easily just then?"

"Huh? Well you know. You don't have to have ESP to win. A strong bond with your pokemon can work just as well."

"I'm not talking about that!" He snapped. "I mean what you did there with that Lucario. When you weren't issuing it commands. What were you doing?"

I backed up a bit, into the wall behind me. "Like I said, we're just close. That's all!"

"Lies!" He slammed one hand against the wall behind me. "You used some kind of trickery!"

I trembled a bit at how he looked down at me. He'd crossed the line from being a jerk, to just plain scary. I was searching for an escape, when I saw Flint's mess of red hair to my left.

"Back off man!" He said, shoving him away.

Bill and Kyle were close behind, and Kyle stepped forward to face Lucian. "She already beat you. But if you want to pick a fight with someone, I'd be more than happy to help you with that." The pokeball around his neck bounced as he strode forward.

Lucian brushed off his suit with the back of his hand on the spot Flint had touched. Wordlessly, he walked off, digging his nose back into his book.

"That guy reminds me a little too much of Ricky." I said with a sigh of relief.

No one said a word as the announcer came over the intercom, broadcasting my match with "Conner" to be in 15 minutes.


	60. Battle for the Championship!

**x-x-x**

Episode 59: Battle for the Championship!

After collecting my healed pokemon, I took a seat beside Kyle and Bill with his laptop open to Ricky's profile. "Okay Bill. Give me the rundown."

"Well there's not much to say. He just goes by the name Conner here. He wears a white mask and cape during battles, but often ditches them outside of the stadium." He pulled up paparazzi images from articles on the web. "And here, is his line-up of pokemon." Bill flipped to a different tab, showing a small picture of Ricky, and 6 empty gray boxes.

"Uh, Bill." Kyle interrupted. "Why are they all blank?"

"Don't ask me." Bill shrugged. "For some reason, it's hidden on their server. But I can access it. Easy."

"Then do it." Kyle said, crossing his arms.

"No wait!" I yelled. "What if I'm not supposed to see!" I lowered my voice to a whisper. "Wouldn't that be like… cheating?"

Bill and Kyle stared at each other a moment.

Bill laughed. "Okay, I'm on it." He cracked his knuckles, and set to work, slamming his fingers down on the keys in a rapid motion. With just a few minutes of Bill typing in a bunch of code jargon, the boxes began to fill with images of pokemon, and their names. In order, the first to pop up was a dodrio, then a swampert, ursaring, tyranitar, and magcargo. When the shiny magcargo showed up, I could see Kyle tense, and his grip on my hand tightened. He looked angry, but quickly composed himself.

He sighed. "Bill. What about that last one?"

"Not sure." Bill answered, eventually tapping the keys with less enthusiasm. "Can't seem to crack that one."

"Well, it doesn't look like the guy's changed his party up much. I'm willing to bet it's his Steelix. That's the only other one I remember."

"It's bizarre though. Why would there be such a stronger firewall on that one if it's only a Steelix." Bill now tapped the return key mindlessly, trying to figure it out.

While the boys debated this hacking problem, I got up and walked over to the PC system. Unlike the Elite Four, Ricky had a variety of different pokemon. Because of that, I went with my normal Sinnoh party, and deposited each over to the drop box.

I paused when I clicked on Palkia's. I hadn't been using it any, because it still wasn't a smart move to bring it out. Especially in front of all these people. But something in my gut told me I needed it. That Ricky had some sort of surprise lurking.

I shook the feeling off, but dropped Palkia's masterball anyway. I tucked it away in my purse, and thought to myself why I was even doing that.

_So far, I've beaten the Elite Four with only three to four pokemon on each. If I can manage to beat Ricky with five, I'll be set. And Palkia, well, it'll just be there for back-up._

Kyle looked back at me with question. Almost like he'd read my mind. I smiled, waved, and pretended I didn't just break his cardinal rule. _Because__ the __fact __is, __I__'__d __do __anything __to__ win __right __now. __Anything __to __get __Kyle__'__s __pokemon __back._

"The fight between the challenger and the champion will take place in five minutes!" The intercom beckoned me. I stood up, ready to face Ricky.

**x-x-x**

When I walked into the stadium, I first saw that it was a typical grass field. The second thing I noticed, was Ricky, clad in his mask and cape, looking down from the podium at me. Though I was early, the look he gave, was like he was waiting on me.

I felt Kyle place one hand on my shoulder. "Shonna, you don't have to do this you know."

I glanced back at him with a smile. "Yeah I do silly." I ran out onto the field, making the crowd applaud the instant I took my side of the arena. But I couldn't hear any of it. I was completely and totally focused on the man directly across from me. _My__ opponent, __no. __My __nemesis. _I thought to myself._This __guy __put __Kyle __through __a __lot __of __grief, __and __stole __a __good __deal __of __his __pokemon __to __use __against __him. __One __of __which, __he __never __returned. __He __somehow __eluded __death, __and __now __came __back __from __the __grave __to __terrorize __us __both._My fingers clenched around the pokeball in my hand. _He__… __he __kissed __me, __and __tried __to __kidnap __me __on __multiple __occasions. __And __continues __to __haunt __us __even __now, __as __he __stands __there __so __flauntingly, __waving __to __the __crowd. __It __all __ends __today. __I __won__'__t __let __anyone __else __look__ up __to __this __creep._

"Ricky Conner!" I yelled into the microphone. "You're going down!"

He smiled from behind his mask, before slowly removing it off his face. Some of the crowd gasped, while the girls swooned. His lips curled back into a wide grin. "I'd like to see you try. Little flower."

**x-x-x**

"And now!" Jane shoved her face into the camera. "The battle is about to get underway, but not without a few brash words from our challenger. Can she back it up? Or will our mysterious and handsome champion be the victor today?" She stared at the camera in confusion. There were no lights on it. "Charlie! Is this thing even on?"

"Huh?" Her dumbfounded cameraman looked up from it in a dazed state. "No."

"What are you doing?" She screamed. "That was good material there! And we're supposed to be live now!"

"Sorry Jane!" Charlie rushed to hooking up appropriate cords and adjusting lenses. "It's just, something seems strange about this, don't you think? Shonna acts like she already knows this guy. She seems angry at him."

Jane slapped her freshly manicured hand against her forehead. "Now is not the time for you to start thinking Charlie." She mumbled to herself as he finished setting up. "Being 'friends' with her and Kyle will come in handy. I just know we'll be the first on the scene to interview her after the battle." She sneered. "No other station stands a chance."

"It's ready." Charlie said with lack of enthusiasm. He zoomed into the camera, catching the expressions on both the challenger and champion's face. He backed away from it. "Something's definitely not right here."

"I thought I told you to stop thinking! Just do your job and film!" Jane whirled the camera around to look at her. "We're going live in three, two, one…"

**x-x-x**

"Start the battle!" The announcer blared.

A pokeball rolled off Ricky's fingertips, unleashing a huge Ursaring that roared and bellowed upon entering the field. I knew I had to use every advantage here. Including a type advantage. So Lucario was my choice. He was smaller, in comparison. But I knew he could do this.

The other advantage I decided to utilize, was speaking to him through aura. But first, I could trick Ricky. "Dark Pulse!" I called aloud. _Not __really __Lucario. __Make__ him__ think __it, __then __get __behind __him__ and __use __Aura__ Sphere!_

Lucario nodded, taking his typical stance and roaring out. Ursaring held his arms up in defense, and closed his eyes, giving Lucario just enough time to get behind him and charge up an Aura Sphere.

"You stupid overgrown furball! Look behind you!" Ricky barked.

Ursaring did, and knocked the aura sphere away before it could fully charge. Still, slamming his arm against the energy looked like it had to hurt.

"He's quick on the ball. But we're quicker. Lucario! Force Palm!" _But__ jump __at __the __last __second, __and __use __Aura __Sphere __again._

Again, he nodded in acknowledgment. He ran forward, and Ursaring gave a pleased grin in a way that said, 'That's right! Come and get it!' But Lucario jumped, high into the air over him, blinding Ursaring by making him look into the sun. He charged up mid-air, then released the ball, making it pound down on Ursaring. It was extremely effective. And as Lucario landed on the other side, I thought Ursaring might fall over right there.

"Thrash." Angrily, Ursaring ran after Lucario. But he was still blinded, and thrashing wildly. Lucario was able to easily dodge, and land a few Force Palms to his knees. Ursaring fell over, and I thought for a minute it was over. "Now, Rest." Ricky said calmly.

And that's what Ursaring did, it started sleeping right there, and gaining back its strength.

_Now__'__s __our __chance __Lucario! __Charge__ up __your __biggest __Aura __Sphere __ever!_

_"__Wait.__"_ Lucario said quietly. _"__Something__'__s__ up.__"_

And then, the peaceful looking Ursaring opened his mouth. A massive Snore attack erupted out of him, making both me and Lucario cover our ears, as well as everyone else in the audience. Ricky however, seemed as content as could be.

_Lucario, __I__ know__ it__'__s __difficult, __but __you__'__ve __got__ to __try __and __take __it. __We __need __that __Aura __Sphere __now, __before __he __wakes __up __completely __restored! _I saw Lucario try to lift his paws away from his ears, but put them back a second later. "Come on Lucario! You can do this!"

Again, he took his paws away from his head, writhing all the while. He shakily held his arms out, charging up a ball of energy. It shook in his grasp but grew steadily. He held his head down, looking more uncomfortable by the minute. The ball in his hands grew to be almost as big as him, and he eventually couldn't take it anymore and released. The Aura Sphere hit its mark, and left a cloud of blue smoke around Ursaring. When it cleared, the snores stopped and Ursaring's eyes were still firmly closed. Ricky recalled him and threw out another, a Dodrio.

_Lucario!__ Are__ you __okay?_ I felt badly for him as he rubbed on his long ears.

_"__Yeah.__ My __ears __are __ringing__ though.__"_

"Take a rest Lucario. You deserve it." I returned him, hoping it would help him some. "Rapidash! Go!"

Rapidash's silver flames seemed to be burning especially intense. He lowered his head, pointing his horn to Dodrio, and stamping his foot against the grass. "Flare Blitz!" I called out. Rapidash and Dodrio took off in a race. Every time it seemed that Rapidash was going to collide into Dodrio, the bird pulled away at the last second. And the pair engaged in a seemingly endless pursuit.

I turned my microphone off for a moment to think aloud. "This is weird. A dodrio's top speed is 40, maybe 50 miles per hour. Rapidash can get over 100 during Flare Blitz, easy. So what on Earth has Ricky been feeding this thing to make it go so fast?"

"Drill Peck!" Ricky yelled. Dodrio immediately turned around and began ramming its three beaks into Rapidash, stopping his attack. The onslaught continued until I made the command for a flamethrower to Dodrio's faces. Dodrio backed off immediately, and I was fairly sure it had received a burn. Dodrio didn't pause for too long, and when Ricky ordered it, it dealt out a brutal Tri Attack that sent Rapidash backwards.

"Bounce!" I cried, hoping Rapidash would be able to leap away. As he did, Dodrio's heads each took a position in his targeted path. I squinted my eyes, wondering what to make of this. I thought I heard Kyle scream something at me, but it was hard to tell from all the ruckus is the stands. I glanced over to where he was sitting, and shouting something, pointing at Dodrio.

"Hyper Beam." Ricky said calmly. And when I looked back, Dodrio's head facing Rapidash let out a cry, and a bright light that knocked Rapidash back. Rapidash tried to leap away with Bounce, and was directly overhead of Dodrio when the middle head struck him with a Hyper Beam.

"Rapidash!" I watched in horror as Rapidash fell to his feet on the other side of Dodrio, where another head was poised and waiting. It released its third Hyper Beam on Rapidash, making him collapse in a heap. He was knocked out cold, and badly injured. I held up the pokeball, recalling him. As I did, Dodrio turned with mixed expressions toward me. Ricky just smiled in amusement.

I didn't speak as I let Luxray out onto the field, but I knew I would have to be more careful this time. "Luxray! Stay a distance away from it! Don't get too close!"

"Ray…" Luxray lowered to growl at Dodrio. And as the bird turned away cockily, Luxray's eyes focused on something to its side, turning bright gold. He seemed locked on the bird's left side from that point on, and I couldn't figure out why. "Luxray!" I screamed, trying to distract him. But then, he leaped forward, racing after Dodrio. Dodrio used agility to speed away, and as he ran, was charging up a Tri Attack. "Luxray stop!" I yelled, completely bewildered as to why he wasn't obeying. Dodrio turned its heads toward Luxray, not seeing the shock wave he sent down in the bird's path. Dodrio lost its attack, and toppled over, tripping into the grass. Luxray let out a loud roar, and pounced Dodrio. His fangs dug into Dodrio's side, piercing through feathered skin with a Thunder Fang attack. Brutally, Luxray ripped something out of Dodrio's skin. I only saw the object for a second. It looked small and electronic. Luxray angrily clenched his teeth down on it, destroying it in the next second with a surge of sparks.

"What…" I paused, as Dodrio weakly stood, then fell over again, not getting up this time. "What was that?"

**x-x-x**

Kyle watched from the stands, his fingers clenched on the bleacher he sat on.

Bill sat boggled as Ricky recalled Dodrio. "What just happened?" He squinted, but from this distance, it was impossible to tell. That is, if you didn't know Ricky.

"Bill," Kyle asked. "Luxray has the ability to see through things, right?"

"Yes?" Bill double-checked it on his laptop. "Luxray's eyes are like x-rays."

"Thought so." Kyle let out an annoyed laugh. "That guy hasn't changed much. Still relying on microchips to beef up his pokemon."

"Microchips?" Bill looked back to the battle stunned. "But, that's not allowed. He could be disqualified."

"I doubt he really cares." Kyle watched as the next pokemon came out. When it did, it took everything in him not to get up and run down there. He watched as the purple haze enveloped his pokemon, and deep red eyes stared Luxray down. He was barely able to mutter out his name. "Mag- Magcargo."

**x-x-x**

"A shiny Magcargo." I glanced to where Kyle was in the stands. "That's just cruel Ricky."

"Heh." Ricky leaned against the railing, with a bored look.

Luxray's eyes didn't seem focused this time. Whatever was in the last pokemon, wasn't in this one. "Too bad." I muttered. "It sure was an easy way of weakening them."

"Fire Blast!" Ricky wasn't wasting time now. A massive fire attack was coming our way.

"Dodge!" Luxray's speed wasn't the best, but it was a lot better than the fire snail. He easily dodged, and the blast singed the grasses around him. "Iron Tail!" Luxray reacted swiftly, jumping behind Magcargo. The dark purple pokemon didn't have time to turn around before he was slammed away. He withdrew into his shell, rolling harmlessly across the field to my side.

"Flamethrower!"

Magcargo unleashed another round of flames, this time making a wall of fire between him and Luxray.

"What are you trying to do? Burn the place down?" I screamed, watching as more and more of the stadium caught ablaze. People were starting to look edgy in the stands.

_Shoot! __I __don__'__t __have __any __water __pokemon __on __me __to __put __out __this __fire __besides __Palkia. __And __I__'__d __planned __on __not __using __it. __Does __he__… __does __he__ know __about __that? _I brushed the thought off. _Either__ way, __I__'__ve __got __to __end __this __now, __before __somebody __gets __hurt._

"Luxray! Return!" I shot the ray of light through the flames, and though I'd missed, Luxray leaped into it. I switched out pokeballs, and groaned a little at the horrible disadvantage I'd have. "Staraptor! Put out the flames!"

She soared out, with a sharp call. She only needed a second to take in her surroundings and figure out her job. She started flapping her wings down on the fire, blowing it down. It wasn't enough though. The fire had grown so large, it was impossible to put out with wind. If anything, the gusts were fueling the flames, making it spread more.

"Stop Staraptor!" I sighed. "No good. I've got to think of a way to use this against him."

"Flamethrower!" Magcargo released a blast of flames on Staraptor. It hurt her a lot, meanwhile Magcargo looked perfectly content sitting the flames.

"That's it! Staraptor! Blow them their way!" I clinched my teeth together. "Lets see how you handle the fire Ricky."

It was an extremely risky move. If even one ember touched Ricky, it could be used against me as attacking the other trainer. Staraptor was taking hits of Flamethrower as she worked to push the flames their way. As flames licked the side of Ricky's platform, I saw him give an uncomfortable look.

"He's sweating now." I grinned. "Keep it up Staraptor!"

"Return." He said with annoyance, bringing back magcargo. He tossed out a new pokeball which contained a Swampert. "Hydro Cannon!"

In seconds, jets of blue water began pouring out of Swampert's mouth, and through his gills. It put out the fire instantly, then Swampert raised his head, aiming to Staraptor. It took her off guard, and struck her hard. Swampert never let up an inch, and was shooting her further and further away.

"I'm not sure he did that for his sake anymore." I grumbled, watching Staraptor get shot so high into the sky that I couldn't see her anymore. "C'mon Staraptor! Break loose of it and use Brave Bird!"

Staraptor turned her body, rolling off the jet of water. She began flying down, building up speed as a red tint enveloped her. Swampert turned his head, aiming at her once more. Staraptor didn't dodge, but instead used her speed to power through the blast, though it looked painful. She hit Swampert, knocking him backwards. Staraptor skidded on the ground, twitching when she finally came to rest.

"Return!" I called, knowing she wouldn't last another minute of the battle. Swampert stood up, shaking off as though he'd only had the wind knocked out of him.

"Pert." He grinned.

"Kay." I said quietly. "I guess you're my best bet." I tossed out a new pokeball. "Go Torterra."

The field was quiet as the pair stared each other down. So far, things weren't looking my way. But I was praying that Torterra's power might at least be able match Swampert.

"It'd be so much easier if I could get Luxray to steal whatever was making them stronger, but I can't pull him in and out of every battle without getting him hurt." I mumbled to myself.

"Make a move!" Ricky demanded. "Or I will. Swampert! Hydro Cannon!"

Almost as if on cue, Torterra opened his mouth and began drinking up the water. He always liked to do this as a show of strength, but I knew as it started pushing him backwards, that this move would just be too powerful. It was making the tree on his back flourish, but much more and he'd explode.

"Leaf Storm!" I cried. And hundreds of tiny leaves raised off of the tree, instantly restored by the constant water and sunlight hitting Torterra. The leaves lifted into the air, wobbling for only a moment before flying speedily toward Swampert. The giant mudfish was forced to stop his attack and move, missing most of the blades. He didn't look happy when one nicked his face.

"Swamp!" Swampert screamed out, looking pumped up.

I watched Ricky's every advance. I could tell he was going to make a move but wanted to beat him to it. So as he opened his mouth to speak…

"Earthquake!" We called in unison.

Both pokemon lifted up, slamming back down on the already dilapidated ground. It rumbled and cracked all over, leading large chasms over to each pokemon. Swampert simply leaped each crack that came his way, but one snuck up behind Torterra and I, and he fell into it as the gap opened.

"Torterra!" I yelled, unable to see him anymore.

Ricky was smirking across the stadium. "Muddy Water."

Swampert began filling the cracks nearby with nasty looking brown water. They continued to flood the crevices, and I had to do something before Torterra drowned down there.

"Rock Climb!" I could hear another rumbling as the earth below shook. As the last crack filled to the top with water, Torterra leaped out and landed on the ground. His claws were still fully extended and glowing. He looked like he'd taken some damage in the fall, and his body was coated in mud. I pointed at Swampert, not seeing any other choice. "After him! Go in for a head on offensive!"

Torterra nodded and took off on the slippery ground. His claws gave him all the speed to move across the field like a pikachu, but the mud everywhere was slowing him down.

"Terra!" He tripped, and started sliding across the mud, headed straight for the surprised Swampert.

"Hydro Cannon!" Ricky called. But his command was too late. Torterra withdrew into his shell by instinct and slid right into Swampert with the spiky side of his shell. Swampert fell over, and was struggling to stand afterwards.

"Quickly! Mega Drain!"

And while Swampert was still stunned, Torterra came out of his shell, latching his mouth around one of Swampert's legs, sucking the last of his energy out of him, and helping to heal Torterra. Swampert gave in, fainting in the mud. Ricky recalled him.

"Terra!" Torterra beamed, looking rejuvenated. I smiled at him in praise, but I was pretty sure I knew what Ricky would pick next, and that would put a damper in our mood.

The shiny Magcargo was released, as expected. Torterra backed up just from the heat of the creature.

"My options are limited." I whispered. "Torterra's too covered in mud for Leaf Storm, and though Earthquake would be good, one more of those might collapse the whole stadium." I began digging back through my purse. "Okay I think it's time to change out."

"Not so fast." Ricky grinned. "Fire blast!"

A huge blast of flames began building up, and Torterra was too close to it. He extended his claws.

"What? No!" I frantically searched for Torterra's pokeball. I found it and held it up. "Return!" The red beam would have hit, but Torterra got scared and tried to outrun the blast. It was futile. He was hit with it head on, and instantly knocked out. "No!" I shouted in denial. I hung my head and took a deep breath. Without looking up, I held the ball up again to recall him. "That leaves me with two weak ones, and… that one." I snickered. "Well shoot. If it comes down to it, I could." I touched the purple masterball in my purse. "You'd wipe all of his out." I struggled with that thought, but eventually settled on a different one. I smirked. "For now, I'll go with the smarter move."

Ricky just raised an eyebrow at this scene. When I released Lucario, he laughed. "You call that a smarter move?"

"_I__'__d __have__ to __agree.__"_ Lucario said, leaning against my podium for support._ "__You__ have __some __kind __of__ strategy__ for__ this?__"_

"Beat this thing." I smiled.

Lucario watched me for a moment, then laughed. _"__Sounds __like __a __plan.__"_

Ricky was still laughing about the type disadvantage. "Finish this with Flamethrower."

"Car-go." Magcargo's fire rose as he spat out a wave of flames.

"Bone Club!"

Lucario pulled the aura bone out of his paws, and twirled it in front of him. The flames carelessly bounced off the aura, spinning away from him.

"What?" Ricky's eyebrow raised once more. "Rock Throw!"

Broken pieces of the field began to raise with Magcargo's strength, and he chucked them toward us. Again, Lucario used his Bone Club to evade damage completely. With each rock that was thrown, he leaped and sliced through it like a samurai with sword. With the last, he sliced through it, then kicked a large chunk back at Magcargo, smacking it in the face.

"_Snap __out__ of __it!__" _I heard Lucario yell. He pointed with his club to the stands. _"__You__'__re __being __used!__ Your__ real__ trainer __is__ out__ there __watching __you, __you __know?__"_

Magcargo looked over to Kyle, and it seemed their eyes met. There was a long pause, and Magcargo seemed to have a troubled yet indiscernible look.

"Recover!" Ricky yelled, breaking the moment.

"_No __time__ to__ charge __an__ aura __sphere.__" _Lucario said looking to me.

"Not even enough to get over there." I watched as Magcargo charged up with white light. "Throw it!"

Lucario only looked at the club a second before pulling it back. He threw it forward like a spear.

"Mag!" Magcargo stopped recovering, and flew backwards with the hit. He struck into the concrete podium behind him, cracking it. He fell, knocked out.

Ricky looked down at it, then returned it. "That was embarrassing. Useless pokemon." He tucked the pokeball back under his cape, and pulled off another. The monster he let out stood ten times taller than Lucario, but he looked ready.

"_Oh __good.__ We__'__ve __got __to __settle __our __score __from__ last __time.__"_ Lucario used his power to call the aura bone on the ground back to him.

"Ran-i-tar!" Tyranitar seemed to chuckle out some remark.

"_We__'__ll __see.__"_ Lucario answered back.

**x-x-x**

"Did you see that?" Bill said with shock on his face. "Lucario just took out Magcargo like it was nothing, even though he's already wore out."

"They're getting serious." Kyle put his chin into his hands. "Let me ask you something Bill. Do you think it's possible to bring a pokemon back to reality once it's been brainwashed?"

Bill turned to him. "Does this have something to do with how that pokemon looked at you just now?"

Kyle didn't answer.

"Well, I don't know anything about that, but I don't see why not. After all, time heals all wounds, right?"

Kyle smiled now. "Yeah. It does."

**x-x-x**

"Look out Lucario!"

He jumped back as Tyranitar made an intimidating charge at him. Tyranitar laughed at him again.

I stared out onto the field. Each step Tyranitar took crumbled the ground below him. "That's right. This is the Tyranitar that we couldn't beat before. The one Riley's Lucario had to show up and defeat."

Lucario nodded. _"__But__ this __time, __I__ know __what __I__'__m__ doing.__" _

Ricky seemed to be chuckling about something. "Thrash!"

Tyranitar charged forward with intent this time. Lucario jumped to the side, avoiding it, but as Tyranitar ran by, he slammed his arm against Lucario, knocking him and the bone club in his arms away. Lucario was down for a second, but he quickly got up when Tyranitar turned to charge him again. He looked to the aura club, but it was too far away to reach.

"Dark Pulse!" I screamed.

"Rarrrr!" Lucario roared out with dark energy. It knocked Tyranitar back, stopping his attack. Tyranitar lowered his head and grinned.

_Lucario!_ In my head I called out to him. _Luxray __was __on to __something __earlier __when __it __found __something __in __Dodrio__'__s __side. __Whatever __it __was, __it __gave __it __great__ power __and __speed._

"_That__'__s __dandy. __But __I__ don__'__t __have __eyes __like __his.__" _He took a cautious step back as Tyranitar made another feigned charge at him.

_You __have __something __better. _I smiled. _I__'__ve __been __doing __a __lot __of __research __lately, __and __I __read__ that __at __one __time, __aura __users __could __visualize __aura __through __sight. __In __other __words, __there__'__s __a__ chance __you __might __be __able __to __pick __out __a__ foreign __object __in __a __living __being._

Lucario looked somewhat stunned at this prospect, but I saw him relax and stare at Tyranitar in a concentrating way. I could see the image in his head of what he saw. After a moment, the scene became black, with Tyranitar's form in light blue.

"Stone Edge!" Ricky suddenly called. Tyranitar roared, and with his roar, a diamond shaped patch of the ground, wrecked by the fissures, began to lift into a giant rock. Tyranitar slashed at the rock with his claws, forcing chunks of it into Lucario. He was hit by each, causing him to loose the image. Tyranitar kept it up, gradually carving the stone into a sharp point.

"Focus Lucario!"

Even with rock chunks hitting him, Lucario closed his eyes. The aura sensors under his ears lifted, and the image came back to me even stronger than before. I closed my eyes as well, and Tyranitar's blue figure stood brighter, with only one black spot in the middle of his left leg.

"There!" I yelled. "In his leg!" I opened my eyes as well, but when I did, I saw the sharp end of the giant rock be thrown into Lucario. The rock slid with him into my concrete podium. The impact hit so hard I nearly fell forward over the railing. "Lucario!" I leaned over the side, trying to see. The rock sat unmoving. My heart plummeted when I couldn't feel his presence. "Lucario!"

A dark purple light erupted out of the rock, and it burst into a hundred pieces, flying in all directions. From the wreckage, Lucario leaped out. He dashed forward, surprising Tyranitar. He held his arm in front of him, and shoved the long spike on it deep into Tyranitar's leg, making the pokemon cry out in pain. He slowly pulled it back, with something small and black on the end. The machinery fizzled and cracked away, falling to the ground. Lucario growled out at him. "_Relying __on __something __like __this? __You__'__re __not __so __tough.__"_

Tyranitar looked enraged as it nursed the open wound on his leg.

Ricky flicked back some of his red hair. "Hmph. No matter. This particular pokemon is strong enough without it."

I could see the referee in the corner look at us with some uncertainty, but he looked too scared to say anything about it. The announcer made some kind of comment as well, but it would seem that no one understood this little exchange.

"Tyranitar! Obliterate that pest with Giga Impact!"

Lucario didn't even have time to react as Tyranitar threw his whole body into him. Lucario went flying back. Amazingly, Tyranitar didn't even need time to recharge before running behind Lucario and batting him in the other direction with his tail. Lucario hit the rock pile, making dust fly up. His knees shook as he struggled to stand back up.

"That's enough!" I said, reaching for his pokeball. "Luxray can handle it from here."

"_No!__"_ He looked up at me with desperation on his face, and a trail of blood dripping down the side of his chin. _"__I__'__m __going __to __defeat __this __guy!__"_

"You can't do it all! Let someone else take over!" I aimed the beam at him, but he sidestepped it. "Lucario…"

He stared at me intently, his gaze not wavering.

"That thing's still not dead?" Ricky cackled. "What a nuisance. Tyranitar! Hyper Beam!"

"Can it really use a move like that so quickly?" I asked, shifting my eyes to the monster in front of us. He was charging up a ball of yellow energy in his claws. "Lucario! You need to get in the ball now!"

"_No!__"_ He continued to stare up at me._ "__I__ don__'__t __need __anyone__'__s __help __beating __him.__" _He paused and smiled._ "__Besides__ you.__"_

"Ah…" I glanced back up the beam being charged, and smiled as well. "Okay Lucario. If you say so. Aura Sphere! Now!"

His smile widened as the blue spark at his paws grew. He turned to his opponent, and the ball's size increased quickly, matching the size of Tyranitar's attack. As he released the beam, it hit the aura and started a show of strength as the two energies shifted against each other, moving steadily back our way. Lucario began to struggle under the force, and had his teeth grit in the excursion.

"C'mon Lucario!" I cheered. "You can beat him!"

He smiled again, pumping more aura out of his body. The sphere grew, and shoved its way back in the opposite direction. The blue light overtook the yellow, and the blast hit Tyranitar, making it cry out one last roar. When the lights subsided, Tyranitar was face first in the dirt, unmoving.

"You did it!" I said, still stunned that Lucario was even standing.

"_Yeah__ but __that__'__s __it. __I__'__m__ all __out __of __energy.__"_ He collapsed to his knees as Ricky recalled Tyranitar. At first, he didn't say anything, but he held a look of evil and hate. Then he smiled, pulling his last usable pokemon from behind his cape. It was contained in a purple masterball, which made my suspicions rise.

"Well, I didn't want it to come to this, but it looks like I have no choice but to use my newest pokemon."

"Newest means least experienced in battle." I reminded him.

"I wouldn't be so sure. In fact!" Ricky leaned into his microphone. "This pokemon was in a constant battle for its life for over a decade in this region!"

"What… do you mean?" I asked, adjusting my glasses out of nervousness.

"This pokemon and I, share something in common." He held the masterball in front of his face. "We're both on a mission to see someone else be destroyed. And we will never stop until that day comes." He threw the ball, making it land center stage as the white light emerged onto the field. "But for now, I'm content on using it to destroy you."

The light continued to grow, bigger than the shape of Tyranitar, or any other normal pokemon I'd encountered. And when it began to take shape, I gasped at the four legged-form before me.

Lucario looked up from the ground with unease. _"__Oh__ there__ is __just __no __way.__"_

But when the dust settled, there before us stood Dialga.


	61. Their Epic Battle Continues!

**x-x-x**

Episode 60: Their Epic Battle Continues!

"No." I said under my breath. "That can't be. It's not possible." Yet there it was, landing slowly onto its legs as it used its wings to lower. I never thought I'd see this pokemon again, and here it was, looking ready to battle. "So, Ricky…" I lowered to the microphone. "Did you brainwash this one too?"

"Now what ever do you mean?" He answered coolly.

"You did." I muttered, looking at the now impossible feat. I slowly raised my hands into a 'T' shape, looking to the referee.

"The challenger has called a time out. The only one she gets in the match. We'll take a ten minute break while she thinks things out." The announcer informed the audience. "Things must be heating up for her to use this opportunity!"

I wasn't allowed to leave the field during my time out, or even talk to anyone, but that didn't include my silent conversation with Lucario. _Where__ do __we __stand __now?_

"_It__'__s__ bad.__" _He replied. "_That __monster __is __every __bit __as __strong__ as __it __was __the __last __time __we __met __him. __Ma, __I __don__'__t __see __any __other__ choice __than__ using__…"_

_I__ can__'__t __Lucario! __I__ can__'__t __use __Palkia __against __Dialga. __You __know__ it __will __infuriate __Giratina, __and __he__'__ll __come __stomping __back __here __to __break __it __up. _I cringed, imagining a hole to the distortion world right there, sucking up all the audience members. _I__ can__'__t __allow __that __to __happen!_

Dialga just stared at Lucario, looking just as calm as Ricky. Lucario tried to get up, but was just too weak and sat there. _"__What__'__s __your __plan __then?__"_

_I __don__'__t __know, __but __I__'__ve __got __to __think __of __something. _I glanced over to Kyle and Bill in the stands. They sat looking completely stunned, yet I still wished I could talk with them. _This __is __the __only __chance __I__ get __to __think __of __a strategy._

"_Will the distortion world really open again if they fight?"_

_Yes. __I __made__ a __promise __to __Giratina __that __they __wouldn__'__t. __That__ they __would __never __fight __again. __But..._I thought back to when I first encountered the pair of them fighting. _Now__ that__ you __mention __it, __that __realm__ remained __sealed __for __a __long__ time __before that. __Nearly __eighteen __years __before__…_

"_Before you stepped in."_

_Before __I __intervened. _I remembered how Palkia was going to lose the battle, how I returned the missing orb to its shoulder blade, and how the pair began to fight at full power. Only then did the gate open up.

Lucario held to his shoulder as he finally managed to stand. _"__Okay. __If __that __has __any __connection __to __this, __then __you__ should __just __remove __the __Lustrous __Orb __and __have __them__ fight.__"_

"As if Palkia would let me do that." I mumbled aloud. _No, __if __I__ did __that, __we__'__d __meet __the __same__ result __as __last __time__ they__ fought. __Dialga __would __have __the __advantage __and __win. _I stared at the motionless monster standing in the field, looking to its shoulder blade. Set in the blue scales was a glistening jewel. Something that looked like a giant diamond.

"Time's up!" The announcer called. "Let the battle resume!"

"Dragon Claw."

Dialga went from moving perfectly still, to being right on Lucario, and in one swift motion, smashed his claws against him. The attack was so strong; it crushed Lucario into the ground, cracking the earth below him. He laid there unresponsive.

"Lucario!" I looked up to Ricky in anger. "He didn't have anything left. You knew I was going to recall him."

He sneered back at me. "And you had plenty of time to do so."

I regretted not doing it earlier as I returned Lucario to his pokeball. But I was still infuriated with Ricky. I sighed, letting Luxray back out into the ring. He turned and gave me an expression that said 'You want me to fight that?' But when he realized I was serious he turned back to the beast.

"Metal Claw!"

"Defend with Iron Tail!"

Dialga burst forward with iron hard claws, but Luxray was ready with a tail of the same strength, and held it out to catch the claws. There was an awful sound of scraping metal as Dialga's claws raked against his tail.

"Thunder Fang!" I screamed. Being close enough, Luxray was able to do a back flip onto Dialga's leg, digging his claws in. He leaned down and sank his teeth into the blue leg, sending shocks through Dialga.

As Dialga fell on that knee, I was about to make the command for Luxray to steal the gem. Before I could, Ricky made a move.

"Roar of Time!"

Dialga let out a deafening roar. I had no idea what it meant, until I saw Luxray release his jaws from Dialga, and begin to move up his leg backwards, he flipped forward, and found his tail trapped beneath Dialga's claws again. Dialga now stood on the leg perfectly fine. It acted like nothing happened.

Ricky answered the questions floating in my head for me. "If we don't get the result we want, we can just go back in time and change it." This time, Dialga's metal claw attack went through, and knocked Luxray away. Ricky smirked. "I can control time."

"Is that even possible?" Even seeing it with my own eyes, it didn't seem real. "If that were true, how come you haven't just went back in time and finished us off?"

Ricky turned away. "I'm working on that."

"So you don't have that much control on it yet." I smiled. "Meaning you can probably only get Dialga to go back a short amount of time. Maybe even a few minutes."

He didn't say anything now.

"Luxray! Theif!"

"Earth Power!"

As Dialga raised its front haunches, Luxray changed his tactics, he ran under Dialga's legs, just missing them slamming down on him. He ran from the quake-like tremors that crept closer to him with every step. Making a flying leap, he landed on Dialga's tail, which lifted steadily.

"Keep going Luxray!" Luxray bolted up Dialga's back.

"What an annoyance." Ricky spat. "Hyper Beam!"

Dialga charged up the blast in his throat, craning his neck to look at Luxray.

"Luxray! Hide!"

At the last possible second, he did just that, hiding behind one of Dialga's wings. Dialga was intent on getting him off, and continued aiming for him. He released the blast, only hurting himself and one of his wings.

"Gaaaaa!" It cried angrily. In its rage, it took off into the air, heading straight up. It reached a height near the clouds, then began descending uncontrollably. It kept its back faced toward the ground, and I could see Luxray struggling to hang on.

"Luxray!" I called out to him. He released a surge of electricity in a shock wave attack that Dialga took during the free fall. Luxray made one more flying leap, reaching for Dialga's shoulder with open jaws. It was the last thing I saw before they hit the ground, causing the entire stadium to shake. This time I did fall down, and pulled myself back up by the railing. Dialga laid on its side in a mess of rocks and dirt, since that's all the field was now. All the people in the first rows of the stands were coughing and having to crawl back into their seats. I scanned the scene, desperately searching for Luxray. There was some movement under Dialga's arm, and Luxray crawled out from under him, looking very beat up. He had a glistening gem in his fangs, and limped his way over to me. He tossed the orb up like a volleyball served, and smacked it upwards with his Iron Tail. I stepped back as the gem landed where I stood. I was amazed it hadn't shattered.

Luxray smiled faintly, then collapsed on the ground in a heap.

"What?" Ricky looked down at Dialga. It seemed to be taking too much time getting up.

"It must be embarrassing." I laughed, picking up the large cut crystal like sphere in my arms. "To have something stolen from the self-proclaimed 'master thief'."

That seemed to get under his skin. "Roar of Time!"

"Gaaaaaaaaa!" Dialga roared out once more, standing confidently again. This time however, nothing happened.

I laughed at him once more, tucking the Adamant Orb into my tote bag. I returned Luxray, and held a new pokeball before me. My own purple masterball. "You see Ricky, Dialga is too weak to use its most powerful move again, especially without the orb that gives it power. And if you had taken any time to actually train it, you might actually know that."

Ricky grit his teeth. His fists were clenched. "What do you know of it?"

"A lot. Especially since I have a pokemon just like that." I pressed the button and let the masterball roll right out of my hand, bouncing on the concrete below me. The light surged out of it, and a creature that matched the height of Dialga emerged. Palkia's eyes met with Dialga, and the pair instantly tensed. It was impossible to ignore the immediate opposition that had been spurred on from that moment. Their eyes turned blazing red with anger.

And for a minute, the entire audience went silent.

**x-x-x**

Bill and Kyle stood speechless in the stands.

Bill took a minute to look at his laptop. He was staring at their match on the league's server, and how each had one pokemon grayed out. "So that's why. They both had a pokemon not in the database. There's no info on either of those. Not even a decent picture."

"Stupid." Kyle muttered. "Why would she even have brought that thing for the battle. Now everyone knows."

Bill turned to him. "But, it's the only chance she has of winning."

"Winning doesn't matter anymore." Kyle looked up, still gripping the bleacher in both hands. "We'll be lucky now if we even make it out of here alive."

"Huh?" Bill's face went livid.

"Those two, they'll fight to the death, and they'll be no stopping them. I'll be surprised if they don't destroy this stadium and everyone in it."

"Uh…" Bill scooted up in his seat, and crossed his arms over his laptop protectively. "Should we like, leave then?"

"You leave if you need to." Kyle said, firmly planted in his seat. "Nobody would blame you if you did. But I won't let her get hurt. If need be, I'll step in." His eyes shifted down to the pokeball around his neck.

"You think you could beat two legendaries like that?" Bill asked, scooting back now.

"No." He answered honestly. "But I might could hold them off until everyone else gets out."

Bill relaxed a little. "Well if so, I'm going to see that."

**x-x-x**

Nobody moved. Even Dialga and Palkia remained perfectly still for a minute.

"Ha. Hahaha!" Ricky laughed. "You're the one with its nemesis? Oh this is just rich. How great!"

"Gaaaaa!" Dialga turned around and roared at Ricky, almost as if it was annoyed with him. It effectively silenced him. Dialga turned back to Palkia, and I realized that from this point on, he would not be commanding it.

The pair clashed. And the wind from it blew me backwards. I gripped onto the edge of railing, and used it to climb back up. I gazed out as Palkia and Dialga began punching and kicking each other, and Dialga's tail swung back into the concrete wall protecting the stands. The wall crumbled, and people started screaming.

"Palkia!" I yelled. "People will get hurt if you fight here! Take the battle to the air!"

Palkia made no sign that it acknowledged me, and instead slammed its claws at Dialga, but missed and hit another wall, knocking it down.

I screamed at the top of my lungs. "I know you can hear me Palkia! I won't be ignored! Take it to the sky or I'll return you right now!"

Palkia sort of snarled at this, then flew straight up, flapping its massive wings. Dialga gave chase, and they pounded each other from the sky.

Ricky gave me a firm look. "How did you get it to obey you?"

"Every pokemon has a drive." I answered softly. "You just have to find out what it is."

He looked up to Dialga in a way that told me, he didn't know what to say to get it to listen to him. But I doubted it would now anyway. It was apparent that Dialga had not received as much brainwashing as Magcargo. Or perhaps Dialga was just strong enough to break free of it. But looking up as it clamped its jaws into Palkia's thigh, I knew the only thing it was fighting out of, was rage.

"You need to listen to me." I said it quietly, and away from my microphone. "Palkia. I know you can still hear me. So listen. If you fight like that this battle's going to drag on forever. You'll get weak, and maybe even lose."

"Kiaaaaa!" It roared out in anger, smacking Dialga off with its tail.

"Nothing can ever come of you two fighting wildly like this. We know that from last time." I clenched my fingers around Palkia's master ball. "I let you come out and fight because I had faith that you would obey me, and we could win this together."

Dialga charged up a Hyper Beam and released it. It hit Palkia, and it nearly fell, but regained its balance and flew back up.

"Whether you know it or not, you need me to win this battle." I smiled. "It's a crazy concept to you, I know. But give it a shot, and see what happens."

Palkia shifted its gaze off of Dialga for the first time, and looked down at me.

"_You__'__re__ an __insignificant __creature.__"_ It hissed through aura. _"__We __both __could __kill __you __in __seconds,__ and __yet __you__ think __you__'__d __be__ able __to __help __me __fight?__"_

"Trust me." I said, still smiling.

Dialga began charging up a second Hyper Beam, and was poised above Palkia now, ready to send it down.

"Palkia! Spacial Rend! Above you!"

The pearl on Palkia's shoulder pulsated. To my surprise, it didn't even look up as it enclosed a pink bubble around Dialga, manipulating the space around it. Dialga's Hyper Beam couldn't break through the shield and it sat there dumbfounded. The shield eventually changed form, into a crescent shaped wave of energy that was thrust at Dialga. The beast shook its large head showing how painful it was.

"Gaaaa!" It cried. Its claws glistened, and I could tell what it was about to do.

"Dragon Claw!"

The pair locked claws midair. Dialga's claws shone like steel, but Palkia's held a deep violet hue. The dragon type move was a huge blow against Dialga, and it had to back down before it could strike again. I noticed its eyes shifting down to the ground now. It seemed distracted.

"Aura Sphere!" I yelled. Palkia pulled back its arms and collected a ball of pink aura. Dialga roared in response. It was just as loud the last time it tried Roar of Time, but once again, it failed without its orb. Palkia released its attack, hitting Dialga in the face.

The pokemon wailed, and began falling toward the ground. It hit hard, throwing rocks and dirt in all directions. I looked around the arena. Everyone in the first five rows of seats had either left in fear, or retreated to the top back of the stands, leaving only about half of the audience still there. Dialga laid still with his back facing us. Palkia landed softly on the ground in front of me. It craned its head to look at me.

_"__Not __bad. __Trainer.__"_ It sort of grinned in a snide way.

I smiled as the referee made his way over to the fallen pokemon. He was about to declare it. He motioned his arm upward my way, but only got it about half way when Dialga's wings twitched.

The ref was frozen in place. He stepped back unsteadily into one of the cracks of the ground, falling.

"Palkia! Help him! Get him away!"

Its eyes narrowed_.__ "__And__ how __will __that __benefit __me?__"_

Dialga began to rise shakily on its legs. A stoic expression laid on its face, but its eyes were still blood red, much like Ricky's piercing gaze. I knew Dialga wasn't finished.

I grit my teeth, and slid down the ladder of my podium. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, and grabbed the man's arm, helping him up. I dragged him back to my side, and turned my head to look back. Dialga raised its front legs, standing on its haunches. My eyes widened. "Keep running!" I said to the man. He kept running, and ran down the hall. He hit a switch and closed the gate to the hallways behind him, closing in the stadium. Satisfied he was safe, I turned back to face this battle. "Palkia! Surf!"

Dialga slammed down in rage, even though it could see Palkia hovering a couple feet above the ground. A blast of air hit me first, blowing me back. I fell, and began rolling to the end of the field. I laid on my stomach as the middle of the ring caved in, giving in to all the abuse it'd taken. The machinery underneath that switched the fields was now visible and sparking. Dialga collapsed into the hole on his knees, unable to fly away.

Palkia grinned as it flapped its wings. Water shot out of its mouth more powerful than any water attack I'd seen before. It was blown to the other side of the stadium, flooding it and crashing against the walls. Dialga was hit with it and passed out during the strike. Its body floated in the waves. It hit the other side of the ring, then began coming back to us. Palkia floated up missing it, and I watched in horror as the waves carried the massive monster my way. I closed my eyes and gripped onto the last remaining grass blades in this spot. I tried to brace myself for what I knew quite possibly would be a fatal hit.

It never happened. I opened my eyes to see Dialga strike the wall below me through a pink film. I sat up in the bubble, and looked to Palkia, who led it over to the tall concrete podium, pointing with one claw. It slowly lowered it down, and when I touched the safety of the concrete, the bubble disappeared. I stared at my pokemon in amazement, as it looked back at me with little emotion.

The crowd began erupting in applause, but still, I watched Palkia. "Why?" I asked. "It was you wasn't it? The first time Kyle and I went up on Mt. Coronet and nearly died, then somehow magically ended up in Hearthome. That was you wasn't it?"

Palkia didn't answer. Instead, it turned its head to its fallen foe.

"Why?" I asked again. "If you don't care about me, why would you save me?"

_"__I__ don__'__t__ know.__"_ It said in a low voice.

I smiled slightly. "Thank you."

"Amazing! Shocking! Epic!" The announcer's voice was shaky with excitement. I looked up to the box he was broadcasting from, and could see the referee smiling from ear to ear with his arm outstretched my way. "That settles it folks!" The announcer spoke again. "The challenger is declared the victor of the Sinnoh Pokemon Championship! Shonna Dotson is the new Champion!"

A wide grin crossed my face. I felt a twisting in my stomach over those words. I stared over to the other side, trying to gauge Ricky's reaction. His messy red hair was hanging in front of his eyes making it impossible to tell. He recalled Dialga to its master ball, and I did likewise with Palkia. The draining system of the field, which was surprisingly still operational, was engaged, and all the water was drained away. The gates to the hallways were opened up.

"After what quite possibly was the most destructive and impressive battle we've seen here, it's decided!" The announcer continued. "Now our former champion will lead our current to the Hall of Fame, where she and her pokemon will registered."

Ricky climbed down and began walking slowly out one of the hallways. I hurriedly climbed down as well, and ran across the wrecked ground after him.

**x-x-x**

"What did he say?" Kyle yelled, turning to Bill.

"He said she won!" Bill beamed.

"Not that!" Kyle shook his head. "About Ricky leading her to the Hall of Fame!"

"Oh yeah." Bill frowned now. "Sometimes leagues do that, if their resident pokemon professor isn't around."

"Crap!" Kyle jumped up from his seat, shoving through crowds of people who were still standing there cheering. He pushed and shoved his way to the end of the stands, watching Shonna and Ricky enter a dark hallway. "Shonna!" He screamed. "What are you thinking?"


	62. A Lethal Mistake!

**A/N: Just letting you all in on a little secret, there are only two more chapters left after this one. I would like to have 100 reviews on this story. So if you haven't yet, or maybe just haven't in a while, please review?**

**x-x-x**

Episode 61: A Lethal Mistake!

Ricky picked up the pace when it was obvious that a mound of reporters were hot on our heels. He turned a corner, going down a darker and more narrow hallway. I followed, and we seemed to lose them, at least for the moment.

I gripped onto the long handle of my purse with both hands as we strode down the hall. Despite everything in me saying this was dangerous, I felt euphoric. _I finally did it! I became Champion in a region! That makes me a pokemon master! _I sung in my head. I finally felt just as famous as all the people I surrounded myself with.

I looked up to Ricky as his long black cape swayed with each step. I knew it was not good sportsmanship, but I really wanted to tease him about my victory. _Maybe just one 'I told you so'. It wouldn't hurt to mock him a little for all he's done, right?_

Instead, I quietly strode behind as we moved further back into the league building. After another minute, I sighed out. "How much further is it?"

He looked over his shoulder with a smirk, but didn't answer. We were approaching a light at the end of the hall, which I assumed to be it. When we exited the open door, I found it was just an exit to the back of the building.

"Hey, what gives?" I asked, looking around at the empty street. When I looked back, Ricky was running away, crossing into the city behind the league. "Where do you think you're going?" I yelled, taking after him. I looked back to see the reporters had caught up and were grouped where I was just standing. They looked to me, but didn't give chase. Perhaps because of the celebrity that appeared before them the next second. Kyle came out of the same exit we did, and was greeted by the media with enthusiasm.

"Mr. Gray!" A young reporter shoved a microphone in his face. "Can you tell us your opinion on the match today?"

"Get out of my way!" He shoved, but another one jumped in front of him. I saw Kyle reach for the pokeball around his neck, but someone got pushed into him, making it drop to the ground, rolling under peoples' legs.

"Shonna! Stop!" He screamed.

"Don't worry Kyle!" I yelled back to him. "I'll get your Magcargo back!" I kept running after Ricky, watching him trail off down the road. There were several tall buildings and alleys he weaved through, which reminded me of the first time I'd met him. But I wasn't scared. I'd already beat him in battle, and I was confident I could take care of this. "Ricky! Get back here!" I called out to him. Finally, right beside a garbage dump in the middle of a dark alley, he stopped mid-stride.

He turned, glaring with his blood red eyes as his cape swung around. "Little flower, you really are becoming a thorn in my side."

"A rose is a rose." I said, stopping a few feet in front of him. "But I'm not leaving without Kyle's pokemon you stole. You made a deal. So hand it over."

He pulled a pokeball from behind his cape. "Here it is. Come take it."

I slowly approached, holding out my hand. Just as he was about to let the ball drop, he clinched a fist around it, and used his arm to smack me hard against the wall. His other hand came from behind his cape, pulling a long knife out and holding it tight against my neck. I didn't dare move, because any more pressure on it would slit my throat.

He dropped the pokeball in his hand. "You know what? That weakling of a pokemon doesn't serve any use to me anymore. You worked hard to get it, so he can have it. If he finds it, along with your body."

He lowered the knife down my chest, and quickly slashed it over my shoulder. I thought sure he'd cut me, but then I saw he'd slashed the strap on my purse, making it fall to the ground and the contents spill out across the alley. "Your pokemon are weakened from the battle. Probably too weak to break free." He leaned down to pick up Lucario's pokeball. "But this is the one I'm worried about most."

"No! Don't you dare hurt Lucario!" I screamed, practically tackling him. Ricky shoved me away, knocking me against the trash bin.

"Relax." He said sinisterly, pressing his knife deep into a latch on the ball. "I'm just making sure he doesn't manage to get out." He tossed the sparking pokeball into some kind of machine he had on his side, along with my other pokeballs. "And this little piece of work will make sure none of the rest of them interrupt us either."

"What did you do?" I stared at the strange cylinder my pokeballs floated in on his belt. Lucario's pokeball was still sparking. "Give them back!" I reached out for them, but he pushed me back against the wall with one hand. I could feel anger boiling inside me. "Stop doing that." I said angrily, looking down to the ground. "I'm not scared of you."

His eyes turned more evil than I'd ever seen them, as he again shoved his knife against me without actually cutting. "You should be afraid of me little flower. I've murdered women who were a lot stronger than you. What makes you think you're so much better then them? Is it your infernal love for the object of my hate?" He lifted the knife to my neck, just below the necklace Kyle gave me for my Hearthome contest. He sliced it off, making the blue gems fall and bounce on the ground. "Is it your looks? Is it this pretty saffron hair of yours?" He grabbed at my hair, pulling it toward him in one hand. With a quick slice, he cut through it, and it fell to just above my shoulders. Ricky tilted the knife in his hand, aiming it directly over my heart. "I'll cut you down to size."

It was in that moment I felt all my anger travel down my arm, making a blue light appear in my palm. I threw my arm up, smacking him across the face. Blue aura swirled around my hand, before quickly vanishing just as suddenly as it had appeared.

"Agh!" Ricky dropped the knife in order to hold a hand to his swollen face. "What the heck was that?" He turned toward me with extreme hatred in his eyes.

"Force Palm." I said, scooping up his knife. I pointed his switchblade to him. "Let my pokemon go."

He glared at me, still holding his cheek, when a grin stretched across his face.

I felt a sharp point touch the back of my now exposed neck. My hair barely wisped across the blade that was behind me.

"Put the knife down." Mars's slick voice ordered.

"After you." I said smiling.

She dug the point a little deeper, pricking me. It felt about like a needle.

"Fine. I get it." I dropped the knife, feeling the last of my confidence dwindle away.

"Get her to the ship." Ricky demanded, picking up his knife. He watched as Mars led me by knifepoint to the airship, which was parked just behind the building. "Let the games begin." He cackled, but stopped laughing when he heard labored breathing behind him.

Jane jumped when Ricky turned to her. She looked to Charlie, who was still catching the incident on film. They'd been chasing after them, only getting there moments ago, and this man scared her to death.

"Well now." Ricky approached them slowly. "I hate it when I have witnesses to deal with." He walked toward them, knife at his side.

"Charlie… let's run." Jane backed up, almost tripping on her heels and her shaking knees. Charlie didn't move, and instead handed her the camera.

"Jane. Hold this." Charlie said, as he reached for his back pocket. Behind his oversized t-shirt, he had a pistol hidden. "Don't come any closer." He held the gun up to Ricky.

"Idiot." Ricky ran forward with speed, surprising them both. "You don't even know how to hold that thing do you?" He pushed his knife into Charlie's shoulder, pulling it out swiftly. Blood flew out of the wound.

"Agh!" Charlie winced, holding one hand to his shoulder.

"Charlie!" Jane backed up once more as Ricky approached her. "Stay away!"

Ricky flicked the gun in Charlie's hand away as if it were a toy. The gun went off. The bullet struck through a window in the top story of the closest apartment. Ricky kicked Charlie in the gut, knocking him down, before turning back to the camera. "You tell Kyle that he can try and find me if he wants, but his little flower will be dead in less than 24 hours regardless." He turned, making his cape swirl, as he ran back down the alley. Charlie struggled to lift the gun and fired three shots. But every one missed horribly.

Jane knelt down beside him once he'd dropped the gun. "Charlie! Are you alright?"

"Yes. My pride hurts more than anything." He held a hand over his wound, with blood seeping though his t-shirt. "If only there was something I could have done."

"We've done all we can." Jane popped the disk from the camera, clutching onto it. "For now, we need to get you to a hospital or something."

**x-x-x**

People screamed as the gunshots rang out. It made everyone finally stand still. Kyle crawled through the crowd, grabbing hold of Arcanine's pokeball. He released the massive beast who stood above the people. "Out of my way!" He screamed as Arcanine roared at them. The reporters finally parted, letting him through.

"Wait up!" Bill hopped on Arcanine's back. "I'm going with you."

"Right." Kyle leaped up to ride Arcanine, as the dog used Extreme Speed, racing through the city, following her scent. _What were those gunshots?_ He felt his breath quiver. _No. Ricky used a knife as his weapon of choice. But what if he had got impatient? What if he had…_

Kyle shook his head, cringing from the thoughts. "Please." He prayed. "Don't let me be too late."

Arcanine stopped short at an alley on the outskirts of town. He stopped to smell the ground. Kyle's eyes widened at the sight of broken glass and a small pool of blood at the mouth of the alley.

"Hey. It's okay." Bill said nervously. "That's not enough blood to be a fatal wound."

"Arf." Arcanine turned to look down the alley. There was something shining in the darkness that caught his eye.

"No…" Kyle slid off Arcanine's back, walking down the alley slowly. He leaned down to pick up one of the smooth blue gemstones. It was definitely one of the ones from the necklace he gave her. He looked around to see about a dozen more of the things scattered in the alleyway. Then, his heart sunk as he saw long blonde hair draping out of the closed garbage dump. "Oh god… please no." He felt his stomach lurch, and tears well up in his eyes as he reached for the handle. His hands were shaking as he clasped around it and let go. "I can't do it. I just can't." He turned around, unable to look as Bill approached the bin.

He heard the lid lift, and Bill sigh. "She's not here." Kyle turned to him, stricken in fear. "Look." Bill held up a long grouping of blonde hair. "Nothing in here but a bunch of hair. The guy just played a dirty trick on you."

Kyle peered inside the trash, just to be sure. It was empty. He slammed his fists against the metal, making it clang. "Where have you taken her Ricky?"

Bill walked around the large bin, picking up a pokeball. "I've found her belongings."

Kyle walked around, scooping up her sliced purse. He took the pokeball from Bill, seeing it was his Magcargo's.

"Let's go back to the league. There's not anything else to learn here." Bill said, patting his laptop case. "Maybe we'll find out something along the way. If not, I'll hack into the guy's PC. We'll find a lead somehow."

"Thanks Bill." Kyle walked back toward Arcanine, but turned once more to look at the grave scene. "I will find you Shonna." He hopped back on Arcanine, and the three of them headed back to the league. "Come on Bill. Hurry."

Bill was typing already from the back of Arcanine. "I need the wifi of the league's server to be able to infiltrate his pc system. A little further."

The same mound of reporters were waiting, and this time they didn't move.

"Get out of our way!" Kyle yelled angrily. But instead they all surrounded them, shoving microphones upwards. Kyle was ready to have Arcanine just plow through them, but something red caught his eye around the corner of the building. He frowned when he saw it was Flint's hair, and not Ricky's. Flint motioned for them to follow him, so he had Arcanine leap over the people, as they raced around the building. "Shouldn't this be close enough?" Kyle asked, growing impatient.

"It's going so slow for some reason." Bill replied.

"Hey!" Flint yelled when they met. "I'll take you somewhere they can't follow you to."

Kyle recalled Arcanine and they ran into another back door of the league. Through a series of hallways they ran, but Kyle stopped at one when he peered through a door into the pokemon center. He pushed open the door and walked over to Jane and Charlie, who sat in the lobby looking somber. Charlie had heavy bandaging around his shoulder and was holding pressure on it.

"Kyle!" Jane jumped up when she saw him. "Kyle! I'm so glad you're here."

"What happened to you?" Kyle asked Charlie, completely ignoring Jane.

"That guy. The former Champion." Charlie stood up, still gripping his shoulder, but he stopped speaking after that.

"Kyle!" Jane yelled again, grabbing his attention. "Hey I'm not trying to pester you here. We have something that might help you!" She shoved a disk into his palm. "We got video of him kidnapping her!"

"What?" Kyle looked down at the disk in his hand.

"I'm so sorry." Charlie spoke up. "I tried to stop him, but he was too fast. He got me. Luckily the Nurse Joy here was able to patch me up. Said it was a pretty clean stab."

Kyle touched his hand to his own shoulder, remembering the trauma he'd been through because of Ricky.

Flint and Bill were now standing behind him and listening.

"Can I see that?" Bill took the disk and slid it into his laptop.

"C'mon man." Flint walked around Kyle. "Those reporters will probably check here first."

With that, the media did start to bust in, and headed their way.

"There he is!" One of them said.

"Hold it right there!" Jane said, charging up to them in her heels. She held her arms outstretched to stop them. "I'm Jane from Jubilife News! I was the first person to successfully interview Kyle Gray in the Johto League, and I'll be first here too!" She turned back to whisper to them. "Go. Now."

Kyle nodded, and followed Bill and Flint to an elevator. And though they only went up three floors, it seemed to last a lifetime. Seeing what Ricky had done to Charlie only increased his worry and dread. Flint led them down one last hallway. One with 5 doors. Two at the left, and two at the right. At the end was the largest, a giant metal door with a pokeball symbol embossed into it.

"That's the Hall of Fame." Flint said, leading them to the first door on the right. "When everything got weird, I went to make sure Shonna was okay. Neither of them were in there, and when I checked the computer, she was never registered." Flint unlocked the door to a small room with a bed, and a desk in front of the window. It was a mess, with posters covering every inch of the wall. "This is my quarters." Flint led them inside and looked to Bill. "Can you work here?"

"This is perfect." Bill said, sitting at the desk with his laptop. "And being so close to the Hall of Fame's access point will certainly speed things up on my end."

Flint shuddered. "What exactly happened? Is it true what they said? That Ricky kidnapped her?"

Bill turned in his seat, pulling up the video on his computer. "Let's find out."

The video was clear, but the audio was very grainy since Jane and Charlie were far away from the scene. Bill did some quick fixes in an editing program he had, and the video came though much more clearly. All three of them stood hovered around the laptop with a mix of expressions. But with every passing second, Kyle reached a point of even greater anger than before.

"Oh yeah!" Flint cheered when Shonna smacked Ricky across the face. "Do it again!"

But when the woman's shadow appeared behind her, their hope sunk. Both of them disappeared, then Ricky ran up to the camera. A struggle seemed to happen before his face was once more on the screen.

"You tell Kyle that he can try and find me if he wants, but his little flower will be dead in less than 24 hours regardless."

Jane and Charlie spoke a little as he took off down the alley. Their distraught voices almost masked the low humming sound in the distance, before the video clicked off.

"Did you hear that?" Bill turned up his speaker and moved back to the last few seconds of the video. He turned to Kyle. "You know what that sounds like?"

"Yeah. The Bill-mobile."

Flint raised an eyebrow. "The what?"

"A Team Rocket airship." Bill nodded, listening to it once more. "It sounded close by."

"I'm going back to the scene." Kyle said, rushing for the door. "Maybe there are still more clues around there."

"I'll stay here and try to access Ricky's PC. With any luck, we can hack right into the mainframe of his ship through it."

"Has anyone bothered to call the police?" Flint asked. There was a pause, and he sighed. "I'll do that then. And while I'm at it, I'll make some more calls. See if anyone has seen a suspicious airship."

Kyle gave one final nod as they split up, in search of any possible leads on where they might be.

**x-x-x**

At some point, I must have got hit in the head or something, because all I could see was black. I started to hear blurred voices though, and thought I might be dead. I slowly started coming around, and my brain registered that the voices belonged to Ricky and Mars. They were arguing about something. When I tried to move, I found that my hands and feet were tied tightly to a pipe. I opened my eyes and saw first, that I was aboard some kind of airship. I looked to be sitting in the middle of it, directly across from a huge shut door. I could see windows at the front, but there was no one at the hem of it, so I guessed it was on auto pilot. In a back room, I could still hear Ricky and Mars.

"I hate women like you." He said coldly. "You're all talk, but then when it comes to doing the deed, you won't go through with it."

"I can't help it Ricky!" She screamed. "I'm a lot of things, but I don't want to be a murderer."

"I thought you wanted her dead just as much as I do."

"I do! But I'm not going to do it, or be any part of it. I don't want to be around when you kill her."

At this point, I began squirming wildly, trying to get free. I slid my arms up and down the pole, pulling to try and find any weak spot. I dug my fingers into my back pants pocket for my pocketknife, but it was missing.

"So, you're only going to do the job halfway. Get her here, then what?" Ricky yelled back.

"I don't care what you do! I just want to leave now. Okay?" Mars sounded like she was about to cry. She exited the room without Ricky, and ran over to me with tears streaming down her face. I was going to say something but she held a finger over her lips to silence me. She looked cautiously to the back room, then pulled the knife from before out. Quietly, she sawed away at the ropes holding my ankles to the pipe. When they came loose, footsteps clanged on the metal floor, and Mars tucked the knife back into the case at her side and laid the ropes around me. It made it appear as though they weren't cut. She looked like she was going to put the knife in my hands, but she was stopped short when he entered.

Ricky walked back out to the main room and saw me. He frowned, and turned back to Mars. "What are you doing?"

"Just checking her binding." Mars mumbled.

"Can't you even do a decent job of that?"

"Shut up!" Mars yelled, refusing to look at me. "I called you. You're the hit man here."

"True. But you would think you'd enjoy this." Ricky now turned his attention to me. Within seconds, he had his hand around my mouth, pushing my head into the pipe. I couldn't scream, but I tried. "You didn't even gag her big mouth." I bit a section of his hand, making him back off. "You just made things harder on me Mars." He grinned, creeping his way around me. With a flick of his wrist, he had the switchblade out, and flipped it on its side. He held it out, touching my stomach and trailing it around me to the other side harmlessly. But if it were twisted just an inch in the other direction…

I looked over to Mars, who still refused to look at me during this. "Mars, please." I pleaded. "Don't let him do this. I'm sorry about what happened to Cyrus. I promise you if there had been any way we could have saved him…"

"I want off!" Mars screamed. "Drop me off somewhere. I don't care where." She closed her eyes and turned away.

Ricky sighed, walking over to the controls. "We should be directly over a forest in the resort area." My knees scooted forward when the ship began plummeting downwards. Ricky walked over to a button on the side of the ship, and slammed his fist on it. The large metal door in front of me creaked open, and wind whipped in. It killed me to see the ground below was just a few feet away from me. "Get off." He said calmly.

Mars looked scared, and slowly walked over to the edge.

"I said get off!" Ricky suddenly shoved her, right off the edge of the ship.

Mars screamed. I heard her body hit the metal wing, then the earth below. We were only a dozen or so feet off the ground, but it had to hurt.

Ricky slammed the door shut, and I felt the ship lift up once more. He kept his back to me, and snickered. "No more interruptions, little flower."

**x-x-x**

"C'mon Bill." Kyle crossed his arms, tapping one foot. "You made the PC! You told me once you could get into anyone's if you wanted." He had no luck finding any signs of the airship in the area, and had came back only to find Bill had made no progress either.

"I'm doing the best I can." Bill sat at his laptop, typing something that looked like a bunch of code jargon. "I'm trying to infiltrate his PC as we speak. He has it set up with something to block me at every turn though." Bill typed something else up, only to be met with another, 'denied' response. "This guy is good."

"I can't just stand around here and do nothing!" Kyle yelled. "I'm going after them. I don't care if I have to search this whole region!"

"That's exactly what you're going to do if you don't keep calm!" Bill yelled. "I'm switching back to the video. Maybe there's something we missed."

Flint suddenly shoved open the door to the room. "My little brother Buck just called. He said an airship fitting the description was spotted flying over the Resort Area."

Kyle dug out his pokeball without hesitation. "Than that's where I'm headed."

"Hold up!" Bill screamed. "Kyle. What is that there?" Bill pointed to his computer screen. "On her wrist."

Kyle leaned over to look. "It's her watch. Why on earth does that matter?"

"Is it just any watch?"

Kyle frowned, still confused. "It's a poketch."

"Has it been updated recently?" Bill asked with a smile.

"Uh…" Kyle thought for a minute. "Yes. She's downloaded a few new ones since we got it fixed. Bill, what does this have to do with anything?"

Bill turned back around, typing once more. "This is perfect. Ricky is from Hoenn right? Unless he keeps up with Sinnoh's latest technology, he probably doesn't know these things."

"You're driving me crazy here Bill." Kyle groaned. "What things?"

"Magnifying." Bill said, watching as his program zoomed in to 200, then 500 times and got closer on the paused image of the watch. "I believe it's clear enough to get the serial number."

Flint stared down at the monitor in confusion. "Dude, you gonna let us in on your plan here?"

Bill continued to type, switch windows, and type some more. "I read an article in the Sinnoh Tech Magazine last month, about these little poketch things. The newer ones are equipped with applications that can have a tiny map of the area, in case the trainer ever gets lost. However, there's also a tracking unit app which can be used to find the trainer in the event of that." Bill smiled. "I'm sending word to the poketch company that I need their file for the tracking program." Bill grinned once more. "Ah, upload started. With this, we should just be able to type in her serial number, and find out exactly her position." He typed in the long number, meeting a result after only a minute. "There! We have the coordinates. She's exactly 557 miles northeast of the Battle Area island, and moving fast. Approximately 400 knots!"

Kyle grabbed away the laptop and sped down the hall with it.

"Wait!" Bill cried. "Not my laptop! Give me a minute and I'll upload it to my PDA!"

"No time!" Kyle screamed back, bursting into a run.

Charlie was being patched up in the lobby with a stronger bandage, when Kyle ran by. "Did you find her?"

"Yeah!" Kyle held tight to the laptop and ran outside.

"Hold up!" Charlie cried, struggling to stand. When him and Jane got out to the parking lot, Kyle was already gone. He was nowhere within sight, but some snowflakes lingered in the air.

"Snow? In summer?" Jane asked, supporting Charlie with one arm.

"Let's go." Charlie said, making his way to the parked news helicopter. He laughed. "It's a lucky thing they let us have one of these this week."

"Are you joking? You can't fly that thing!" Jane tried to pull him out of the chopper. "You're injured."

"I may not be able to shoot a gun, but I can drive this thing just fine." Charlie groaned. "Get in Jane! We're going to help our friends!"

Jane realized he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Well, I suppose it will make a good story."

**x-x-x**

Ricky paced the floor slowly. Each step made the metal floor respond with a clang. I watched his every move, and still tried to wiggle myself out of the ropes on my arms. He didn't seem to notice I'd raised up on my knees a few inches, and was feverishly working the ropes against a rusty screw behind my back, trying to somehow break them. At one point I slid down on it the wrong way, making it cut into my arm. I winced, and hoped it wasn't more than a paper cut.

I stopped when he turned to look at me with a grin. "You know what I find hilarious?" He knelt down in front of me, crouching down to stare at me. "Of all the women he could have had, he picked you. I traveled with him for a long time, and he never fell for a single advance from a woman. Not that I minded. I always picked up what he left behind. Girls settled for a night of being with the 'friend of the pokemon master' all the time."

"Is there a point to your disgusting ranting?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"See that's it." He pointed at me, then stood back up. "That snide attitude and absolute lack of fear shown, even in this situation. That must be what he likes about you." He smirked. "I miss the first time we met you know. When I caught you feeling vulnerable. But this is good too. Makes things more fun. I'm used to screams, or begging for your life." He pulled his cape back and rested his fingers on his knife. "But you're not going to do that, are you?"

I didn't answer him as he walked over to a device beside the door. On that wall was a metal covering. He slid it back, revealing to me six canister shaped tubes with green fluid and a pokeball in each. It didn't take me long to figure out they were mine. "What are you doing to them?" I yelled.

"This is what you would call the brainwashing machine." He laughed, leaning back against the wall. "I've found a way to make it much more compact in recent years."

"Let them go!" I jerked forward, almost forgetting I was still tied up. I recoiled back to the pipe. "You can't do this! I won't let you condition them like you did Magcargo!"

"Hmph. I don't want all of them." He took the handle of his knife and gently tapped one of the canisters. "Some I'll just wipe their memories, and sell to the highest bidder in the pokemon black market. But I have my eye on this one." He tapped the glass once more. The red pokeball inside began to spark wildly in response. Almost as if on cue, the others followed. "How cute." He chuckled. "They're trying to free themselves. But this fluid will prevent that." He stopped in front of the one with a purple masterball in it. It floated without strain. "This one's not trying to help you though. When I have it and Dialga, even Kyle won't be able to stop me." His eyebrows furrowed at the mention of his name.

He turned away, and when he did, I noticed a tiny spark from the masterball. I began working my wrists against the screw again, and tried to keep him talking. "So, you think that will help? Kyle could still beat you any day of the week."

He looked angered by the thought. "What did you say?"

I looked him straight in the eyes. "You are nothing compared to Kyle! He could beat you in battle with his eyes closed!"

Before I even knew what had happened, he slammed his foot forward and kicked me in the stomach. My ribs felt like they were on fire for a few seconds, then they just ached as I resisted the urge to cry out in pain.

"Don't be delusional." Ricky sneered. "They are the two strongest legendaries seen in this region, quite possibly the whole world. And when they are both at max power…"

"That can't happen now though." I chuckled, feeling one rope snap. They were laced tightly around my wrists still, so I worked on that next. Every squirm made pain radiate from my gut. "I stole the Adamant orb from you. Mr. Master Thief."

He laughed, more like a cackle. "I didn't let you get away with that. I collected that from your purse before we got on this ship. It's already back on Dialga's shoulder. Where it belongs."

This was worrying, but I smiled, feeling the ropes drop off me. "You know Ricky, You should really consider a different path in life." I stood up slowly, and he stared open mouthed for a minute. I pulled my arms from behind my back and outstretched them slightly. "I mean, you and I have lived very different lives. But with one thing in common. Our fathers were complete failures."

Anger seemed to strike every chord in him. His finger gripped the knife handle so hard a vein stood up in his fist. In one swift movement, he charged forward with the knife, aiming it for my face. I ducked, and he hit the metal pipe so hard I thought at first it might pierce straight through it. Instead, it curved down, making an awful scraping sound. I crawled away and looked back, as he continued to let the knife blade slide down the pipe. His head was hung, letting his hair drape down in front of his eyes. "You stupid whore."

I ran for the front of the airship as he gave chase. I hid behind the captain's chair as he sliced the blade through the cushion. I tried to hide behind the passenger seat, but he sidestepped and had me cornered there too. I scooted back onto the control panel, placing my hand on the buttons. They lit up under my fingertips. I backed up into a switch, pushing it down.

I was sitting on the speaker, but I heard the computer mutter, "Password needed for that command."

Ricky walked forward slowly, holding the knife at his side. "I'm going to kill you, and then I'm going to kill your little boyfriend. You hear me? Kyle is dead!"

"Password accepted." The computer garbled. "Self-destruct sequence initiated. Evacuate in T minus 10 minutes."

For a second, me and Ricky both held a dumbfounded look. Then he lunged at me again. This time, he tore the back of my t-shirt as I rolled away to the right. I fell onto the control panel again, then into the steering yoke. Just touching it took it off autopilot, and the ship veered a sharp left with it. Both me and Ricky hit the wall, and I used the adrenaline coursing through me to crawl to the other end of the ship. It was sideways now, and I passed right over the metal door over the wing. I looked down to the big red button next to my knee, and then back up at Ricky as he raced after me in a fit of rage. I smiled as he ran at me. "Go swim with the Sharpedos Ricky!" I slammed my palm against the button as the metal door slid back, and Ricky fell right through it. I had to grip onto a pipe close to the ceiling to stabilize myself as the wind whipped through the cabin. I slammed my foot back on the red button, but it wouldn't work. The door stayed wide open, and I peered down into the ocean below. I couldn't see Ricky anywhere, but I cringed when I saw the ship was slowly descending.

I tried in vain to close the door again, but it refused to work. I resigned myself to climbing across with the bar I was clutching to. It led back to the front of the ship. I used all the strength in my arms to cross the gap, only slightly noticing a pain in the right one. Racing back to the controls, I stood and pushed up on the steering. The ship gradually righted itself with each push. I hit the floor again, and then clambered into the chair. A button named 'auto' called to me. I pushed it, and the ship floated up, correcting our change in altitude. I sank into the plush seat, taking my first deep breath.

The computer voice kicked back on. "Self-destruct in T minus 5 minutes."

"Oh crap!" I jumped up from my seat. "I forgot about that!"

A digital readout on the screen showed the time ticking away. I bolted to the other end of the ship, careful to not get around the open door. I stopped in front of the machine containing my pokemon. All six pokeballs still sparked in resistance. I banged at the glass with my fist, and tried to pull on them to no end. It seemed impregnable. Frantic, I ran to the back cabin of the airship in search of anything to break the containers. The room was surprisingly sparse. What little furniture was in there was safely secured to the floor. In fact, about everything was bolted down. Something jerked the ship, making it turn. I nearly fell, but nothing else in the room moved, besides some papers from the table. One long silver wrench slid across the floor, and I scooped it up immediately. Racing back to the main room, I started beating into the canisters. It didn't seem to be helping, but I kept at it tirelessly. I glanced out the nearby door, seeing the ocean inch its way closer.

"C'mon." I groaned, hitting the glass again. "I'm not leaving without you guys."

**x-x-x**

Kyle watched as the program tracked his progress to the coordinates. Pixels radiated a wave pattern around her position. Though it was moving fast, he knew he would catch up with it soon. He glanced down and brushed his hand through her icy blue feathers. "Thanks for helping me."

"As I told you once before, I will be here for as long as you need me." Articuno said calmly.

"I still appreciate it. You didn't have to stick with me for this long."

He saw her blue eyes look back at him. "Yes I did."

"Articuno, can you sense anything at all? How's her future looking?"

"Not good." She suddenly raised her head. "Wait. Perhaps… yes!"

"W-what?" Kyle stammered. "What happened?"

"Her future has changed. There's been a unforeseen event."

"Good or bad?"

She didn't answer, but kept looking forward as a black spot in the sky appeared.

Kyle glanced down to the computer screen. His position was almost directly over hers. "That's it!"

Articuno wasn't looking at the ship now. Her gaze shifted to a dot in the water. She lowered, making the dot visible. It was someone, riding on a swampert. Soon enough the red hair and black cape became clear. "Ricky!"

"She's not with him." Articuno answered. "We should leave him for now." She raised back up into the sky, floating above the Team Rocket airship.

Kyle made a mental note of the small island Ricky seemed to be headed for, and how it wasn't marked on the map. He shut the lid to the laptop and turned back to the ship. "Can you land on this thing?"

"Not necessary. The door's open." She floated down to the side of the ship, pushing her body against the wing. It made the ship turn slightly as she flew as close as she could. "Here's your stop. Kyle, please be quick about what you do. I don't know how much time you have, but both of your futures are unstable right now."

He nodded, and crossed his arms over the laptop, before making a leap from Articuno's back to the steel floor of the airship. He got up, and turned to where a pounding noise was coming from. It ceased when he turned to look at her. He gasped, because at first he didn't really recognize her. Her hair was only a third of the length it was before, maybe even less. Her clothes were tore, and she had bruises and scrapes all over. She looked exhausted, clutching to a wrench almost like it was a weapon.

Her expression went from fearful to overjoyed. She smiled, and between labored breaths, called his name.

**x-x-x**

I didn't notice when a cold wind flooded the ship, and snowflakes began to sweep in. I banged against the glass once more, and thought I had broken it when a loud thud resonated. But it wasn't in the right place. I saw something in the corner of my eye. A figure dove in, and I instantly tensed, gripping onto the wrench. I was prepared to use it on the chance Ricky was back for more. I turned, seeing none other than Kyle laying there, slowly getting up and looking at me. He looked almost as stunned as I was to see him.

I relaxed, somewhat. "Kyle." It came out lower than I'd intended. "Kyle!" I threw down the wrench and ran to him, wrapping my arms around him. He leaned down, setting a laptop on the floor before hugging me back.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "Did he hurt you?"

"How did you find me?" I asked, ignoring the question.

"Using this." He said, lifting my right arm. It stung when he did so. He raised up the Poketch around my wrist, showing to me that beacon like icon on the screen that I never could figure out. Kyle's face turned to a look of concern. "Shonna, you have a cut back here."

It was on the back of my arm, in an area where I couldn't see, but I twisted my arm around to see it. It wasn't really bad, but blood was slowly seeping out of it.

"How did that happen?"

"I'm not really sure." I couldn't remember exactly. Everything had happened so fast. "Ah! But Kyle! There's no time for this! We have to get out of here! This ship's going to blow up!"

"Self-Destruct in t-minus 3 minutes!" The computer blared from the front of the room. "All systems shutting down." All the beeps and lights on the ship stopped, and I felt the ship start to drift downward again.

Kyle's eyes widened. He grabbed me and began pulling me toward the door, but I resisted.

"No Kyle! My pokemon! They're in those tubes!" I shouted, struggling to get back to them.

"Articuno!" Kyle yelled, pointing to the pipe I'd been previously tied to. Articuno stuck her body through the door, though it was a tight squeeze. She pointed her head over to the pipe, and used an Ice Beam at the top and bottom to freeze it. She pulled on it with her beak until it snapped off at those points. She dropped it into Kyle's hands and he walked over to where I was standing. "Stand back." He said as he held onto the pipe like a bat. He swung it with all his might into the six tubes, making them shatter and the fluid drain out. The pokeballs sat sparking on the floor and Kyle bent down to pick them up.

Articuno was cramped in the ship, and forced to walk back to the edge. This shift in weight caused the ship to turn again, and the purple masterball started to roll away, headed straight for the door.

"Palkia!" Without thinking, I dove for the ball. I slid right out the door, and time seemed to slow as I floated toward the ocean.

"Articuno! Get her!" Kyle screamed, fumbling with the pokeballs in his arms.

"_Not necessary."_ She smiled, gently taking the laptop in her beak and handing it to him.

I reached out for the masterball, but before I could even touch it, it popped open, and a light spread out beneath me. I laced my fingers around the ball and hit something hard. I looked down to where I rested on Palkia's back. It glanced back at me, then flapped its wings, rising back up to the ship. Kyle paused a moment to watch us, then hopped on Articuno.

"_Let's get them out of here!"_ Articuno said to Palkia, who nodded in response.

Our legendaries took off, leaving the airship in the distance. We turned back to see the ship hit the ocean, and explode on impact. The sky turned orange around the explosion. Eventually, the burning wreckage was extinguished, and started to sink under.

I stared out at the scene, finally able to let out a deep breath. "I hope… that there weren't any pokemon in the ocean there."

"_There wasn't."_ Articuno comforted me.

Palkia craned its neck to look back at me. _"They're much smarter than that. They could sense something was wrong and fled a while back."_

"That's good." I said, sighing. Articuno flew closer, allowing Kyle to reach over and hand me my pokeballs one by one. And one by one I switched them to compact mode, making them the size of a golf ball. I stuck them in my pants pockets, with the exception of the one that wouldn't switch modes. It sat in my palm sparking around the area where it was pierced. "Lucario…"

The sound of a helicopter hummed in my ears. We turned to see a news helicopter with the words 'Jubilife News: Channel 34' across it.

Jane was filming us from the side of the chopper, but lowered the camera when she saw our pokemon. "Oh my gosh." She adjusted her microphone up so that her voice was audible even over the sound of the chopper.

"Jane, please tell me that's not a live feed." Kyle groaned.

She couldn't hear us, but lifted the camera back up. "And this! Is a good story! This is Jane here, coming to you with coverage on where the new champion has disappeared to! We've found her and world famous Kyle Gray on the back of some very rare pokemon somewhere over the northern ocean."

"Jane stop!" I held my hands over my face. "You missed all the action so just stop. Besides! I look horrible."

Jane actually seemed to relish this fact, and zoomed in on the camera. "Sporting a new haircut, the current champion is safe and sound after her climactic exit from the league!"

Kyle shook his head. "This isn't over." He said firmly. "We need to find Ricky. We can't let him get away."

"But what has become of our ex-champ?" Jane said, lowering the camera slightly. "We caught him racing away to a nearby island, so we'll lead the way. I'm sure Sinnoh's favorite couple has something to say to him! You don't want to miss this folks!" Charlie began to steer the chopper forward, and we followed behind. Jane stopped the footage to yell back at us through her microphone. "The police are on their way!" Jane screamed out. "It'll be better if you have evidence against him right?" She raised up the camera.

"That's true." I said solemnly. "I want that guy to rot in jail."

"I want worse than that." Kyle grit through his teeth.

I looked over to him, wondering what he might be feeling right now. What was going on in his head?

Articuno and Palkia didn't reply, though I was sure they knew the answers.

We approached a small island with some kind of stone tablet at its center. The entire island was a big meadow filled with beautiful pink flowers. It made it all that much easier to pick out Ricky from the scenery, as he sat at the shore with his Swampert.

Palkia and Articuno lowered, but kept a distance back away from him. His head was hanging as he sat in the distance.

"Ricky!" Kyle called out to him.

He tilted his head up with a sinister smile. "Ah. Hello old friend."

Kyle's fingers clenched around the laptop tucked under his arm. "I am not your friend."

Ricky cackled out, as if this was some big joke. "Hahaha. You're pretty funny. You and your little whore both. I don't get it though." His eyes turned to me, with a glazed red tint. "Why won't you die?" He screamed.

"Shonna. Get on the helicopter with Jane and Charlie, then I want you to get far away from here." Kyle reached the laptop across to me. I took it, but looked at him questionably.

"I'm not leaving."

"Shonna just go! I'm worried he might try to attack you or the helicopter at any time."

"Well then me and Palkia are staying." I retorted. "Palkia can stop any attacks he dishes out." I ordered Palkia to fly me up, and I jumped into the helicopter. Jane stepped back as I walked around and found a safe place to sit the laptop and my pokeballs. "Keep a good distance away from the battle, okay Jane?"

"What?" Jane's eyes lit up. "I get to record the pokemon master and the ex-champion doing battle?"

"Sure." I sighed. "Just keep away, like I said." I stepped back onto Palkia's back and slid down between its wings. Glancing down, I pet the back of its neck. "Is it really okay if I ride on you?"

Palkia smiled slightly. _"You've wanted that for a while, haven't you?"_

I nodded, smiling back. However, I frowned when I looked back to the island. "This is it. They finally get to settle the score."


	63. Kyle vs Ricky!

**x-x-x**

Episode 62: Kyle vs. Ricky!

The wind was quiet, and the only noise was the low humming of Charlie and Jane circling the island, trying to get every angle of this tense moment.

Ricky stood up in a wobbly sort of way, with his arms dangling loosely beside him. He laughed again, breaking the silence. "I had a healer machine on my ship you moron! My pokemon are ready to go! You wouldn't dare try facing off with someone like me again would you?"

Kyle sat from Articuno's back motionless. A slight wind blew some of his auburn hair forward.

"Well come on then hot shot!" Ricky shouted. "I won't be defeated twice."

Kyle smirked. "Don't forget you were out smartened twice by her." He pointed my way.

"She got lucky." Ricky spat. "Your luck has ran out though. This is where it all ends!" Ricky pointed forward. "Swampert! Attack them!"

Swampert started the battle with a powerful hydro cannon that shot water straight for us. But in a split second, the water stopped dead in its tracks, and parted ways. Beneath the ocean waters, a gyarados rose up.

"Gyarados." I muttered. "I didn't even see Kyle release him."

Swampert sat at the shore, staring Gyarados down. It let out an unsuccessful Earthquake attack next, that only made the water ripple in front of him.

"Gyarados!" Kyle screamed. "Surf!"

Gyarados rose up until his serpent-like figure stood almost perfectly vertical in the water. He then fell, hitting the ocean hard enough to knock a giant wave up toward the island's shore. Both Swampert and Ricky were washed back against the sands by several hundred feet.

Ricky coughed as the waves sank back to the sea. He was laying on the beach beside Swampert. Swampert was laying on his belly, completely knocked out. "Oh come on!" Ricky yelled. "Get up! That was just a pitiful water attack!" He stood up and spat on the ground. "Useless pokemon!" He released his next, the Ursaring.

Ursaring roared out at Gyarados, but Gyardos just stared it down with a scowl. It was impossible not to see the animosity that Kyle's pokemon were holding toward Ricky and his team. Without command, Gyarados slithered forward and grabbed Ursaring in his jaws. He clamped down, releasing a surge of ice that froze Ursaring solid. Gyarados slung his head around like Ursaring was some kind of chew toy. He let go, slinging the frozen bear into land. The ice shattered on impact, but left Ursaring knocked out.

"No!" Ricky's anger was building. "This is impossible!" He threw out two pokemon now. Dodrio and Tyranitar stood growling at Kyle.

"You never play fair do you Ricky?" Kyle frowned, touching the pokeball laced around his neck. "I'm tired of going easy on you. Arcanine! Come out!"

Arcanine flipped out of the ball, twirling in the air and landing on Gyarados's back.

"Arrr…" Arcanine's eyes narrowed when they met with the pair standing on shore, and hot embers began spilling out of his mouth as he gazed to Ricky.

Ricky pointed toward us and laughed. "Kill them! Kill them all!"

"Arcanine! Flamethrower! Gyarados! Hydro Pump!"

Arcanine sped down the length of Gyarados's back using Extreme Speed to get to the top of Gyarados's head. As he ran, a ball of fire built up in his throat. He released it at the same time Gyarados let out his hydro pump. The attacks swirled around each other, and merged.

Tyranitar and Dodrio charged forward toward Gyarados and Arcanine, but when met with the attack, they stopped short. The scalding water boiled the feathers off of Dodrio, and he fell instantly. Tyranitar was taking it a little better, crossing his thick scaled arms in front of him. But Arcanine was set on not letting him survive the attack. Gyarados stopped his hydro pump when Arcanine leaped off of his head and made a quick burst over to Tyranitar. Tyranitar stood frozen in fear as Arcanine pounced on top of him. He pushed his fiery fangs down into Tyranitar's neck, and let out a staggering heat wave attack that I could feel from up in the air.

Palkia flapped its wings in a silent motion to keep the heat from me. Articuno did the same for Kyle. I opened my eyes to see Ricky curled in a ball, holding his cape in front of him. His eyes widened when he saw Arcanine with one foot on his knocked out Tyranitar.

"Give it up Ricky!" Kyle called out. "You're finished."

"Finished?" Ricky let out a long, maniacal laugh. "You think that's it?" He turned to Arcanine, who was slowly creeping toward him. "I'm not scared of you, mutt."

Arcanine flinched, then growled, and continued walking toward Ricky.

I looked to Kyle. He was expressionless, and it looked like he wasn't going to stop Arcanine from attacking him.

"You're all fools!" Ricky screamed. He reached behind his cape and pulled out his masterball. "You've just been wasting my time! And I control time! Dialga! Come forward and send us back so I can kill her!" His icy stare reached me. "No mistakes this time, little flower."

"No." I felt my breath catch as he held the ball up high. "No more…" He pulled his arm back. "This has to stop!" The masterball was flung into the air, and was headed for the ground, where it would release.

But something bizarre happened. In that instant, a black hole opened up in space, and the masterball was sucked up into it. The hole closed around it, and everyone was left speechless.

Ricky's hand was still held out from the throw as he stared into space. "What? How?"

"Palkia?" I pet its neck, making it turn to look at me. It had a smile on its face.

"_I won that battle Dialga."_

"Palkia? Why?" I asked. "I thought you would have jumped at the chance to fight Dialga again."

"_I can see from these humans that nothing comes from fighting forever. So I sent him somewhere in space, eternally contained out there."_

I smiled. "I'm proud of you."

Ricky turned to Arcanine, who continued his stalk. "No! No way! This isn't over! It isn't!"

"Arr…" Arcanine took another step forward, but stopped abruptly and jerked his head up to look to the ocean. Another helicopter was quickly approaching, and sped over to the island. It was a police helicopter, and it lowered to let out five policemen and an Officer Jenny. After letting them out, the chopper lifted and began circling in the distance like Jane's news helicopter.

Officer Jenny held up a megaphone. "Ricky J.R. Conner! You are under arrest for attempted murder, kidnapping and numerous other charges in Hoenn and Johto."

Ricky snickered. His eyes began to glaze over, becoming a hazy red color. "A lot of people are going to die today." He pulled the switchblade from his side and flipped the blade open.

"Ricky!" Officer Jenny blared. "Drop your weapon and get on the ground!"

"Heh…heheh." Ricky turned to one young male officer who was bolding approaching him. "As if." He charged forward, stabbing the officer in the chest. The man fell to his knees, and Ricky turned to the others, his cape waving in the wind. "Who's next?"

Another officer turned to Jenny. "Officer Jenny! Permission to use deadly force?"

Jenny dropped her megaphone and raised her pistol in both hands. Ricky started to run for her. "Granted." She fired the gun, and I jumped as the noise radiated out.

The bloody knife dropped out of Ricky's hand, and he fell forward, making some sand fly up. Blood started pooling in the sand, but the waves washed it away.

I turned away, not wanting to see anymore.

**x-x-x**

Kyle hung his head. "And that's everything that transpired between the time I left to find Shonna, and when you got to the scene."

I stared out the window of the Sinnoh league main lobby. I'd already given my statement, and Kyle was nearly done with his.

"Thank you very much." Officer Jenny flipped her notebook shut. "We'll be in touch."

I pulled my arms around me as the television replayed Jane's report of the events.

"_This is Jane from Jubilife news here on the very island where today's breaking story took place. This is the spot where Ricky Conner assaulted one officer before being shot by the leading officer. He was pronounced dead on the scene. In addition of kidnapping and attempt to murder the recently crowned pokemon champion, Ricky Conner had a horrible criminal record including being the ringleader of Team Rocket, a malicious organization which captured pokemon for their own malevolent purposes in Kanto and Johto. He was also wanted for smaller crimes in his hometown in Hoenn. This has caused quite a stir at the league for their lack of investigation into our previous champion's record. When we confronted the head of the league, this is what they had to say…"_

The footage switched to a conference with the man in charge of the pokemon league in Sinnoh._ "I can assure you that our standards will be raised, and we will be looking into the records of all future champions, including within the jurisdiction of other regions. We deeply regret ever putting this man onto our stage, and the danger it may have caused."_

Jane's face appeared back on the screen._ "The officer who was attacked by Ricky has been transferred out of the emergency department and has been placed in the recovery unit of Hearthome Hospital. We will keep you informed of any further developments. Back to you Tony."_

Kyle flipped the TV off with a remote and sunk down into the couch beside me.

I didn't really know what to say to him, so I sat silently. Staring down at the floor, I shuffled my feet.

"I had to watch him die twice." He finally spoke. He placed his forehead into his palm, leaning forward.

After a long pause, I reached for his other hand. He glanced down, then smiled, wrapping his hand around mine. "It's over though." He sighed.

"Yeah." I looked down again.

"Hey! Why do you guys look so glum?" An enthusiastic voice echoed behind us. Flint threw himself over the back of the couch. "No one's hurt. Well, besides that cop, and the cameraman, and the dead guy…" Flint glanced at my bandaged wrist. "Okay but I have some good news! The league has approved you Shonna. You can be the new champion!"

I smiled. "That's good. I don't know if I'll be a good one, but I certainly don't have a criminal record."

"True that." Flint stood, nodding. "Now get up and follow me!"

"Huh? Why?" I asked.

"Well correct me if I'm wrong, but you were never registered as the champion, right?"

"Oh. Right!" I stood up, walking over to Flint. Kyle and I followed him down a series of halls, leading to a large door. Flint opened it, leading us into a huge dark room, lit only by a massive computer monitor. I looked to the screen that extended up to the ceiling. I blinked when the light flashed, followed by a series of numbers on the monitor.

A bang came from the side of the controls. "Ow!" Bill crawled out from under the control panel.

"Bill?" Kyle walked over to him.

"Kyle!" Bill's eyes lit up. "And Shonna too! I'm so glad you're safe. My apologies for not meeting with you sooner. The league asked me to wipe everything to do with Ricky from the database."

Flint bounded over to the keyboard, letting his fingers fly across the keys. "Then let's fill it up with someone new." Flint turned around and six slots opened up. "Place your pokeballs here and put your trainer card in over here."

I slid my trainer card in, and saw my picture pop up on the screen. A new status was added as 'Sinnoh Pokemon Champion'. I grinned widely, and sat the pokeballs into the slot. Each one was carefully scanned, adding in their information one at a time. I read some of it aloud.

"Torterra. Level 55. Jolly nature." A tiny picture of him popped up on the screen. "I'll bet he's hungry right now."

Next, Luxray appeared. "Luxray. Level 52. Naughty nature." I chuckled. "Must be the thief in him."

I heard Flint whisper to Kyle. "What are you going to do about that one thing?"

"I'll wait a while." He responded. "In the aftermath of what's happened, well… it's just not the time."

Rapidash was next on the list. "Rapidash. Level 72. Quiet nature." I sighed. "Faithful Rapidash. The strong and silent type."

Staraptor's picture popped up next. "Staraptor. "Level 59. Brave nature." I smiled. "She has been so brave, considering everything she's been through."

The next brought up no picture, and the name was listed as 'Unknown pokemon', but I knew exactly who it was. "Palkia. Level 80. Serious nature. Although… I think it is lightening up more everyday!"

I awaited the final data, but it was stuck on a loading screen. Then an error message came up. "Unable to read?" My heart sunk as I remembered why. "Guys!" I turned around. "Ricky broke Lucario's pokeball! It's not working!"

"Oh?" Bill stepped forward. "I know a bit about them. Let me have a look." He picked up the pokeball and carefully inspected the locking mechanism. "The button's totally jarred. It's not going to open."

"What?" I felt tears build up. "Does that mean he's stuck?"

"No no!" Bill held one hand up in a comforting manner. "There's a release button hidden on the back, but there's a catch… quite literally a catch."

"What do you mean Bill?" I asked, sniffling a little.

"It's used to release pokemon back into the wild. If you let him out, he won't be registered to you anymore. You'll have to re-catch him."

I was stunned. I didn't know what to say, but I nodded to give Bill approval to push his small screwdriver into the tiny hole, where the button was hidden. A red flash of light let out Lucario in a typical way, and he stood before me with a bright smile.

"_Thank goodness. I was getting a cramp in there."_

"Lucario." I spoke aloud. "You're free now. You don't have to be with me. If you want, you can go find Lucia, or whatever else you want to do with your life. I…" I choked on my words. "I'm not going to make you stay with me."

Lucario huffed, and took a step toward me. _"Really ma, you don't give yourself enough credit. You're not that boring."_ He grinned, placing one paw on my shoulder._ "I was serious when I said I wanted to protect you." _Lucario turned to look at Kyle. _"I know he's going to do a good job of that, but I still think you need me around."_

"I do." I smiled, wiping my eyes. "So Lucario, will you be on my pokemon team? Again?"

Flint interrupted. "There's a manual way of adding him into the system." He pointed to a big touch pad.

Lucario grinned, and walked over to the controls, placing one paw on it. The machine scanned his paw, and his data was added to the screen.

"Lucario." I read. "Level 67. Adamant nature." I turned to him. "You're sure about this?"

He nodded. _"Totally."_

"Well then," I turned, headed for the door. "In that case, let's go get you a new pokeball. How about one of those cute love balls I saw in the shop?"

"_Ma please!"_ He pleaded. _"Not anything girly!"_

I laughed at him. "Okay Lucario."


	64. The Months That Followed!

**x-x-x**

Episode 63: The Months That Followed!

Six months after the events at the Sinnoh League, things went back to normal in my life. I returned to work at the day care center, where all my pokemon stayed happily. Pichu didn't know what to think of his mom as a Raichu at first, but he caught on soon enough, and leaped into her arms. It made me wonder if someday Pichu might also choose to evolve, but I sort of doubted it.

The only bit of normalcy I lost, was my boyfriend being around. Immediately after things had calmed down, he set out to get started on getting his gym underway. He was easily accepted after the league's interview and qualifying battle. It was the result I wanted, as apposed to him setting off for the newly put in place league in another faraway region. At least this way, I knew he would be staying in Sinnoh permanently.

_The only problem is, I miss him. I know he calls every night, but…_

"Shonna!" Angie's screaming stirred me from my thoughts. "Stephen drank all the moo moo milk! Now there's none left for the pokemon!"

I sighed. "He pulls this kind of stunt all the time Angie. He does it so…"

"I'll just go get some more!" Stephen interrupted, about to head out the door.

"Hold up." I grabbed him by the back of his jersey. "You're staying right here."

"But the pokemon," He pleaded in a fake way. "They love that stuff."

"You just want to go see the milk maids and chat it up with them." I shook my head at him. "I need you both here to close for the night. I'm headed that way anyway, so I'll go."

"How is that fair?" Stephen complained as I let go of him. "If you go, they'll be no boobs to look at in here at all!"

Angie's face suddenly turned red. "Say what?"

I turned red as well, but in anger. "Stephen! Don't forget I own this place now! I'm sick of your… sick wisecracks. One more crude remark from you and you're out of here. You can go fry up burgers at the Wacdonalds for all I care!"

Stephen suddenly looked like a whimpering growlithe pup who had his tail between his legs. He took his broom and headed down the hall to sweep.

"Sorry about that Ang." I turned to see her, leaning on the counter with a discouraged look on her face. "Really, if he's bothering you, I'll send him out of here tonight."

"Don't." She said sadly. "I just wish I'd got as lucky as you."

"Umm…" I held one hand on the doorknob. "Well, you're still young." I headed outside, trying to avoid the embarrassing conversation. I closed the door behind me quietly. "But Stephen's the one that needs to grow up."

"_Crazy day?"_ Lucario asked, leaning over the fence. When he did, he had the same posture that Kyle did when he first came back to see me and leaned over that same fence. Lucario stiffened, then hopped over. _"Hey, he'll call you again tonight you know?"_

"I know." I hung my head. "He always keeps me posted on the status of the gym, but I still miss him. Knowing that he's all the way in Sunyshore kills me."

"_How do you know that?"_ He asked, putting a paw to his chin. _"That he's in Sunyshore that is?"_

"Huh?" I looked up at him. "Well, I guess he never really said, but I just assumed. I mean, there's already a gym there, and it just needs to be remodeled a bit."

"_Hmm."_ Lucario grunted. _"So, you're headed out to the milk bar?"_

"I'd like to not be, but yeah."

"_Can I come? That's close to Celestic Town right?"_

"Wanting to see your girlfriend again?" I grinned.

He blushed a little. _"Well, uh… yeah."_

"We'll see." I turned to walk up the road, with him close at my heels. "I'm not promising that she'll be there though. You know how she's been super busy ever since Cynthia took back the Sinnoh Champion title from me."

"_Yes."_ He snickered. _"And I also know how you very obviously let her win."_

I smiled back at him. "And I know that you loved every minute of letting Lucia force palm you across the face."

He seemed to daze off, looking up at the darkening sky. _"The only hard part was pretending that it hurt."_

"You really are quite smitten." I said, looking forward once more.

"_I could say the same about you."_

He had me there. I remained quiet as we walked out of town, headed down the dirt trail_. It was getting closer to winter, and the air was chilly already. It of course wouldn't be anything like it used to be. The winters here used to be perilous. Now, I suspected we'd be getting a normal amount of snow._ I smiled to myself. _That would be something to celebrate. _

We were still a ways away from the milk bar, but I was surprised to feel a bit of warmth in the air. I turned around to Lucario. "Do you feel that?"

"_Yeah. It's definitely warmer in this area. I wonder why."_

I turned left, toward what used to be an empty field just outside Solaceon's gates. Now, I could see a huge building, two stories peeking out above the trees. "When did that get here?" I took a few steps toward the building, finding that each would bring me more warmth. "That place must be steaming hot in there. I wonder what it could be? I've never seen a building that big in this town." I walked straight up to the door, looking up at the building. From the inside, I could hear something that sounded like construction. "It doesn't sound like it's open, but let's go check it out!" I twisted the doorknob, and grinned when it opened for me. I dashed inside, with Lucario quietly following. The hallway we walked down was dark, lit only by torch lights on either side of it.

"_Are you sure we should be doing this ma?" _Lucario asked, staying close at my side.

"Sure, why not? It's too big to be someone's house, right?"

He shrugged, then stopped as we got to the door at the end. _"I sense a familiar presence."_

"Huh?" I pulled open the door, being flooded with light now, and standing in the middle of a huge gym floor. All around the area was enough torches and fire added accents to light up the room, but the lights were on anyway. Probably for the four men in the back, who were standing around some sort of plan for the building. My eyes widened as I saw one man from the back, with russet hair, and a green jacket draped over his shoulder.

"Hey!" One of the men yelled when they saw me enter. "You can't be in here miss! The gym's not ready!"

Kyle turned around to face me, and a big grin crossed his face. "Nonsense! She's always welcome!"

"Kyle?" I stood stunned for a minute, then ran across the gym to him. "Kyle!"

"Hey angel!" He scooped me up in a big hug, lifting me up for a second. "I was just about to call you, but I guess you found me out."

"Why didn't you tell me you put your gym in Solaceon Town?" I hugged him back, even tighter. "I've missed you! And I could have been coming up here and seeing you all along."

"Well, I wanted to surprise you with it." He let me go, and looked around. "I've been working hard on this, and actually, I was going to invite you to come see it tomorrow. We're almost done. Just some finishing touches left to do."

"It looks great." I looked around now as well. "It looks like you."

"Yeah." He laughed, looking over my shoulder. "Hi Lucario!"

Lucario lifted one paw in a wave type of motion.

"So!" Kyle took my hand and led me over to the middle of the stadium. "Would you like me to give you the tour first?"

I nodded, but then something caught my eye. "Hey! What's up with the stairs Kyle? Why does this gym have a second floor?"

"Come on! I'll show you." He led me by the hand up the stairs, where I was surprised to find something like an apartment. There was a living room, kitchen, and I could see further back a bedroom and bath. "What do you think? This is where I've been staying."

"Here?" I pulled on the collar of my t-shirt. "It's really nice, but super hot!"

"Yeah." He smiled. "The heat rises, so it all collects up here. I'm working on getting a better air conditioning unit."

"I see." I wanted to look around in there a little more, but Kyle dragged me back down the stairs where Lucario was waiting.

"I guess you saw the hallway, so here's the gym. I'm going to add some benches around the perimeter later, and look." He pointed up to the ceiling.

"Sprinklers." I laughed looking up at them. "Yep. Your favorite part."

"Everything's all safe of course." He twirled me around a little. "You do like it, right?"

"I love it." I kissed him on the lips, making some of the nosy construction workers turn away. "I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled.

"I can tell you're really excited about this." I smiled back, happy to be with him again, through any twist of fate.

"I am." Kyle looked over to the workers, and waved them away. They took their plans and hustled out the door. "And I'm even more excited now, because I have my first challenger."

I stared at him strangely. "What?"

"Shonna, I challenge you to a battle." He grinned. "Right here, right now."

"Umm…" I laughed. "I think you have this gym leader thing backwards Kyle. The challenger is supposed to ask you for a battle, not vise versa."

He didn't say anything, but put his hand on his hips as if he were waiting.

"I can't battle you!" I exclaimed. "I don't have any of my pokemon on me right now!" Which was a lie since there was Palkia. I had to keep it on me at all times, but I couldn't use it. Then I remember another that was in the room.

He looked back at Lucario, who was still standing behind me. "One on one's fine with me."

"But!" I could tell he wasn't going to let me out of this. "Fine. If that's what you want." I didn't really want to, but if it'd make him happy, I was going to oblige.

"Great!" Kyle nearly skipped to the other end of his gym. "My very first gym battle in my gym!" He pulled a pokeball off his belt and held it in one hand. "It'll be a one on one battle, so no switching on either side."

"Sure." I took my place at the opposite end. "I choose Lucario." I watched as Kyle twirled his pokeball, making me more antsy by the minute. _Who will he choose? Since it came off his belt it can't be Arcanine. Possibly Typhlosion? Or Charizard?_

Kyle tossed the pokeball out, and a small white silhouette gave off a glow on the floor. Gray fur began to show, and the creature let out a big yawn.

"Muuuuuunch." He yawned. "Lax?"

"Munchlax?" I tilted my head at it.

"_That doesn't make any sense."_ Lucario dropped his defensive position. _"Sending out a pipsqueak normal type against me? Does he want you to win?"_

"I'm not sure what he's up to." I admitted.

"Okay Munchlax!" Kyle held a fist up in the air. "Get him with a body slam!"

"Munch Munch Munch!" Munchlax waddled over to Lucario, and made a flying leap into him. Lucario just held his foot up to stop him from charging forward. "Laaax!" Munchlax had his eyes closed and Lucario's foot in his face, but he still wiggled his arms and legs, trying to get to him.

"Umm, force palm?"

Lucario smacked a light amount of aura on Munchlax's head, making the baby pokemon fall backwards and tumble back to Kyle. When he got up, he looked like he might cry.

"Munch. Lax…" He wailed out, running for Kyle's legs.

Kyle kneeled down to hug him. "Aw. It's okay. You don't have to fight anymore if you don't want. You tried, so how about a big bowl of pokemon food later?"

"Lax?" Munchlax's eyes lit up at that.

"_Most pointless battle I've ever been in."_ Lucario turned his back, crossing his arms.

"This is strange." I mumbled. "It's almost as if he could care less how the battle ends."

As Kyle smiled and pet on Munchlax's head, I noticed a white light enveloping both of them, it grew bigger, and bigger with every second. When it finally stopped, I stood jaw dropped.

Lucario turned around when he saw my thoughts. _"Oh great."_

"Snor!" The snorlax picked Kyle up in their hug, squeezing the life out of him.

"Okay!" Kyle shoved out of his grip. "Thank you, but please put me down?"

"Snor?" He set him down gently.

"It evolved." I stared up at the creature that was almost as tall as Arcanine.

"It did." Kyle nodded, looking up as well. "Snorlax? Can you maybe try again at this battle? I think you'll get a better result this time."

"Lax?" The snorlax scratched at the back of his head.

"_Okay whatever."_ Lucario got back in his defensive position_. "It's still the same spoiled brat, only bigger!"_

"Body Slam once more!"

"Snorrr!" Snorlax roared, coming at us at surprising speed. Lucario jumped back, but he kept coming, then, stopped abruptly in front of him. We were both confused by his goofy face which gave no hint as to what he was going to do. He leaned over, then flopped down on top of Lucario, taking a nap.

"Rest?" Kyle nodded, taking in Snorlax's new attacks.

"Lucario!" I screamed. "Dark Pulse!"

Some purple energy began seeping out from under Snorlax. It violently surged out, making the peaceful slumbering pokemon roll over.

Lucario growled at him angrily, now bashing his bone club into Snorlax's side. _"This guy's tough as nails!"_

I stepped out a little closer. "That won't work. We need to hit him hard with your best fighting move."

Lucario nodded, but by the time he turned back around, Snorlax was up again.

"Rollout!" Kyle commanded.

"Lax!" Snorlax rolled up into a ball, taking aim.

_He still has his bone club in his paws._ "Use it to leap high!"

Snorlax was closing in when Lucario slammed his club into the ground. It caused him to go up into the air, soaring clear over Snorlax. Snorlax unrolled himself, looking for his opponent.

"Aura Sphere!"

Lucario charged up the attack mid air, and sent it flying into Snorlax's back.

"Lax!... Snor." Snorlax fell over, finally knocked out.

"That was a neat trick!" Kyle said as he returned his pokemon. "Using his club to get a little extra lift."

"Aura's a pretty amazing thing." I explained. "I learned while training with Lucario, that if it hits anything other than a pokemon, it has an elastic type property, and just bounces off."

"You won." He smiled, closing his eyes. "I thought you might."

"Well you sending little munchlax out certainly made it easier." I pointed out.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" He asked.

"I was on my way to get moo moo milk, but it can wait until tomorrow."

"_Aw!"_ Lucario complained. _"But you said…"_

"Oh Lucario." I pat his head, ruffling up some of his fur. "You did great, and I'll certainly reward you. I'll call Cynthia's house and get her to meet us tomorrow. That way you'll definitely see Lucia, okay?"

"_Oh…"_ He looked a little embarrassed. _"Okay."_

"Good boy." I held up his pokeball and recalled him.

Kyle was now standing beside me. "So now, how about your reward?" He began digging in his jean's pocket for something.

I laughed. "A gym badge? Sure. I'll add it to my collection."

He laughed a little as well, then blushed. "It's not a gym badge." With that, he kneeled down, taking my hand in one of his. "Shonna, when I first started my journey, I didn't know what I wanted in life, or what I was looking for. I thought I knew it. I thought it was to become a pokemon master, but that wasn't it at all."

My heart started pounding as I felt blood rush to my cheeks.

Kyle looked up at me, though I couldn't meet his gaze. "When I saw you after those three long years, I fell in love with you all over again, but I was afraid you wouldn't feel the same. That maybe you had moved on and found someone else to share your life with."

"Umm…" I muttered, nervously shuffling my feet. _This couldn't be… this couldn't be what I think it is. Right?_

"You made me feel happiness, and I swore I'd never let you out of my life again. Because," He paused. "I want to be there, for every moment of yours." With the other hand he dug a small box out of his pocket, and flipped it open to reveal a sparkling heart shaped diamond ring.

I gasped under my breath and felt myself losing balance a bit as he held the ring in front of me.

He smiled. "Will you marry me?"

A tear trickled down my cheek, as a rush of emotions enveloped me. I collapsed to my knees, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I couldn't stop myself from crying.

"Hey, don't cry angel." Kyle wrapped one arm around me. "Unless you're trying to say no, in which case I should be crying."

"No!" I blurted out, pulling away from him. "I mean… no not at all! I-I'm just so… happy!" I threw my arms around him once more, nearly tackling him to the floor. "Yes! Of course I'll marry you!"

He laughed, reaching for my left hand and pulling it around to him. I was still sniffling as he placed the ring on my finger. It sparkled in the lights overhead.

"It looks beautiful on you." He said, sneaking around to kiss me lightly on the lips.

"I love it." I twisted my hand around to inspect it.

"Hey. Come with me." He pulled me up and over to the back door. Outside, there was a long ladder. "Go on up. I'll be right behind you."

I nervously scaled the ladder and ended up on the roof of the gym. The full moon made the roof completely visible. I took a seat at the edge of the concrete, and Kyle sat beside me. He wrapped his arm around me as the breeze blew my shoulder length hair back. The view of the night sky was beautiful from where we were, and we sat there, taking it in.

Though the quiet wasn't awkward, only a content sort of silence, I decided to break it. "So how's the training with Magcargo coming?"

"He's still not listening to me, but I am getting him to come around. I think he's actually starting to remember me." Kyle looked down at my hand, and placed his on top of mine. "Ricky did a number on him with all that brainwashing, but I'm determined to get Magcargo back to where he used to be."

"I'll help you in any way I can." I said, staring down at the ring on my finger.

Kyle smiled at this. "I'm going to love being with you every single day. You know that?" His green eyes made me melt with the way he looked at me. "Shonna, I've been thinking very seriously about something."

"Setting a date?" I joked.

"That too…" He looked away. "No. About the issue with our legendaries."

"Oh." I looked away too.

"It's time. You realize that right?"

"Yeah." I sighed. "I don't want it to be though."

"Ever since we were seen on television with them, things have been crazy. Last month someone broke into the day-care center trying to steal it. And I've had the media breathing down my neck trying to get another glimpse of mine. They're not safe with us anymore."

"I know you're right." I pulled the purple masterball out of my purse, as well as a pen. "Want to do it now then?"

He nodded, reaching around for the ultraball on his belt. We took turns using the pen to engage the release mechanism on the back, and both of our massive pokemon floated out above us.

Kyle and I stood before our pokemon, as they looked down at us in a knowing way. Kyle stepped forward to speak with Articuno first.

"Articuno, I started my journey with you as an effort to protect you, to keep you safe from the likes of pokemon collectors, and Team Rocket's plans, but really it's been you looking out for me all along."

The icy bird flapped her wings, making light snow come down on us. _"And I told you I would always do so until you no longer needed me." _Articuno turned to me. _"Now, you don't. Because you have each other, and I can tell you, your future is very bright."_

Kyle beamed at this. "I hope you find solace, wherever you go."

"And Palkia." I stepped forward as well. "I'm finally granting your wish and freeing you as well. But only on the condition that you never fight with Dialga again."

"_Hmph."_ Palkia snorted, twisting around in the air. _"I told you, you pitiful humans taught me something. Fighting a never-ending battle is pointless. Besides, he's out there floating in space in one of those containment units you people use."_

"Promise me you'll stay out of trouble." I smiled sadly. "And have fun, being 'not contained'."

Palkia scowled in a sort of guilty way. _"You were not so bad, to be contained for."_

I chuckled at its words. "I'll miss you too."

Articuno turned to Palkia. _"Do you know of a place in this world where we might be far from the prying eyes of humans, at least for a while?"_

Palkia grinned. _"I think I can come up with something."_ The pink monster built up power its arms, casting a hole in front of us. I could see though the newly formed rip in space. Within it, looked to be the peak of a snowy mountain.

"Is that Mt. Coronet?" I asked.

Articuno flapped her wings once more. _"It looks perfect."_ She turned to Kyle. _"Just so you know, I'll still be watching over you."_ She flew straight into the hole, but Palkia left it open for a moment longer.

Palkia took one final look, then turned and flew into the hole as well. It closed up behind it, leaving nothing behind but a few lingering snowflakes.

I caught one in my hand, then opened it to watch it melt. I turned to see Kyle standing right behind me. He pulled me close to him, giving me warmth in his embrace. I laid my head on his shoulder, and turned my hand around to look at the ring one more time.

Despite everything that had tried to stop us, we were together. Nothing was going to come between us. And I knew that Articuno was right about our future. Our journey across Sinnoh was over, but our journey through life was only getting started.

**A/N: So that's the end I guess. Or is it? Could there perhaps be more to this story? I might have one more idea for Shonna and Kyle... Review and let me know what you all think. **


	65. A New Problem! Arcanine the Arsonist?

**A/N: I seriously wouldn't blame anyone if they said, "Forget that! I'm not reading any more of this freakin' long story!" Despite that I do have ten more chapters for this one. Then, this part is done. Promise. The only thing you need to know is that this last bit takes place _five years after_ the events with Ricky.****  
**

**Chapter 64: A New Problem! Arcanine the Arsonist?**

***Five Years later***

The sky was orange in color against the pitch-black night. The trees were covered in flames. The fire licked at the bark, creeping its way up the branches. Pokemon all throughout the forest ran. A few couldn't escape. They fell to the ground, suffocating in the thick black smog.

The blaze erupted, engulfing the entire forest in seconds. A pair of bright red eyes shone out of the forest. The beast strode forward, snapping the blackened twigs under its massive paws. Its fur gleamed as it waved against the wind that was carrying embers through the air. Heat pulsated off the creature, and as it pulled back its lips into a snarl, a blazing attack burst out in one deafening roar.

With that, the forest was silenced.

**x-x-x**

Kyle gasped as he woke up, sweat dripping down his neck. He put one hand to his forehead, trying to calm down and sat up in the bed. "Just a bad dream." He muttered.

She softly groaned beside him as she rolled over towards him. A strap fell off her shoulder on her nightgown, covered in a pattern of bellosoms. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was laying every which way. He smiled, knowing she would fret over it the minute she woke up and saw herself in the mirror.

"My beautiful wife." He leaned down and gently kissed her on the cheek. She smiled slightly. He turned to look at the things sitting on the small table by their bed. Their glasses sat neatly on the corner beside the pokeball, attached to the worn out leather cord. Kyle looked to the clock. It was nearly 8 o'clock and the alarm would be going off any minute. Deciding it wasn't worth trying to go back to sleep, he got up, and went over to their small kitchen area to make breakfast.

**x-x-x**

The smell of bacon woke me long before the alarm did. I rolled over a couple times before finally getting up. I clumsily walked to the bathroom, and immediately began pushing down my hair that was sticking up in all directions. Even though we were married, and I knew he saw me like this every morning, it still bothered me. I brushed my teeth and sucked up the courage to go see him without even really brushing my hair yet.

"Good morning!" I chimed out.

"Good morning."

"Oh? No good morning angel? Or sweetheart?" I teased, hugging him from behind as he stirred around some scrambled eggs in a pan.

"Sorry… angel." He kept his eyes down at the stove, and didn't smile back at me.

"Hey. You okay? Did you have another bad dream?"

He nodded in response.

"Same one?"

"Yeah."

I hugged him closer. "I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe you've been working too hard. You could take a few days off from being Mr. Solacean Gym Leader. I might be able to take a couple days off too." I blushed. "We could go somewhere."

He smiled, maneuvering out of my arms to put the food on the table. "Where would we go?"

"I don't know. Maybe we could go look at some houses."

"Houses?" He nearly spilled the glass of milk he'd just poured. "Why? Don't you like it here anymore?"

"Oh I do." I held my hands up in defense. "Don't get me wrong. This little apartment above your gym is fine for just the two of us."

He gave me a strange look.

"But, you know on summer days like today, it does get awfully hot, and umm…" Again, he stared at me blankly. "Oh never mind! It was just a thought."

I nervously chomped down a piece of bacon, and hurriedly finished off the rest of my breakfast. He didn't say anything else until we were ready to head out to our jobs. We exchanged the standard "Have a good day at work," and a quick kiss as we went our separate ways.

**x-x-x**

It was a pretty boring day at the day care center. I sat at the front desk twirling a pencil in my hand and listening to the radio. Every few minutes I would glance up to look out the window, making sure Angie and Stephen weren't fighting again about how much food to give the pokemon. I sighed, seeing them bicker about who got to give attention to Vaporeon and Umbreon's new egg. As they stood there yelling at each other, Raichu picked the egg up and brought it over to its worried parents.

"Those two…" I shook my head. "They need to learn that taking care of pokemon isn't an exact science."

The pop song I was listening to suddenly cut off, as a radio news announcer cut in.

"Another fire broke out in Sinnoh last night. This time in Eterna Forest. Police believe it may be connected to the previous arson that happened last week in Jubilife City. Veilstone's police department is working closely with Jubilife, and within other regions to create a task force to investigate if these incidents might be related to other arsons throughout Johto and Hoenn. No suspects have been questioned in this case, as Officer Jenny made a statement earlier today that no human could create such a devastating blaze so quickly."

I kept listening as the radio played back Officer Jenny making her statement, of how only a very powerful fire type pokemon could have created the fire.

"But why would a pokemon do that?" I asked quietly. "It makes no sense."

"No it doesn't." A voice said behind me. Lucario walked calmly over to the desk, crossing his arms and leaning forward onto it. "Pokemon don't just kill other pokemon and destroy the land for no reason."

I turned the radio off to speak with him. "So then, someone must be controlling it?"

"Either that, or some fire-type has went off the deep end."

"Can pokemon go crazy?" I asked, wide-eyed at the thought.

Lucario put on paw under his chin. "In a fit of rage, perhaps."

"What an awful thought." I gazed out the window again, dazing out.

Lucario put one paw on my hand. "You doing okay Ma?"

I looked to him and smiled. "Yep. There haven't been any customers today. I think I'll close up earlier and go see Kyle at his gym." I hopped up out of my seat and ran out to the field. "Angie! Stephen! I'm closing up."

"Huh? Why?" Stephen put his hands on his hips.

"There's nothing else to do really." I walked over to Vaporeon and Umbreon who were guarding their new egg protective. "That's right. Take good care of it." I pet Vaporeon's smooth wet head. "Kyle told me he wants one of these to be a flareon for his team." I glanced down at the egg. "I wonder if this is the one?"

"Rai!" Raichu caught my attention, looking up at me with a smile. She had her paws wrapped protectively around Pichu, who was nuzzled into the soft fur of her stomach.

I couldn't help but smile back at her. I went inside to put the egg on the incubator and left with Lucario.

**x-x-x**

Kyle grinned as his challenger threw out his last pokemon. The kid was actually pretty good. He had him down to his last two. He said his name was Aaron, from Sandgem Town.

Aaron ran a hand through his short black hair out of nervousness. This was his last gym badge he had to earn to try for the Sinnoh League. None of his friends had been able to defeat him on their first try.

"You're not half bad kid." Kyle said from across the gym floor. "You kind of remind me of myself at your age. How old are you? Ten?"

"I'm thirteen you jerk!"

"Yep. A lot like me." Kyle closed his eyes. He knew he'd end up letting this one win. "Charizard! Flamethrower!"

"Use Hydro Pump Tentacruel!"

The blasts clashed, and the water pushed back the fire, striking straight through to Charizard. The dragon fell from its haunches and collapsed backwards, fainting. Kyle held the pokeball over him and zapped him back inside. He pocketed it and reached for the one around his neck.

Aaron gasped. He knew which pokemon would be inside that pokeball.

Kyle released Arcanine with a grin. The dog was infamous, one might even say legendary in his own regard. It was even written in the Sinnoh pokemon league guidebook that his Arcanine was quite possibly the most powerful Arcanine in the world.

The fur on Arcanine's mane and tail wisped through the air like flames. He stood in a defensive stance. His muscles tensed, and fire fell out of his mouth like drool. Kyle kept his hand over the pokeball. Something didn't feel right. Something was wrong.

"Use Poison Jab Tentacruel!" Aaron cried, pointing toward the giant dog before him. One of Tentacruel's tentacles turned a purple hue, and he thrust it forward toward Arcanine.

Arcanine flinched for a moment, but in the next he snapped at the tentacle that came at him. He bit down with every ounce of his jaw strength, tearing into the flesh. Purple liquid oozed out of the wound, dripping down onto the floor.

"Arcanine! Stop!" Kyle commanded.

The dog looked up, then dropped the other pokemon's limb. It pulled itself back to its trainer, leaving a drag mark of poisonous seepage. Arcanine's eyes seemed to calm, then he held his head down with a guilty look.

"Why'd you have to use that thing?" Aaron ran to his Tentacruel and wrapped his arm around it. "It's a monster!"

Arcanine whimpered and backed up against the wall. Kyle gave him a firm look and strode over to a cabinet on the wall. He gathered some supplies and went over to the Tentacruel. Without asking, he sprayed some hyper potion on the wound and watched as it magically closed up and healed. Even with the potion, a burn was visible on the Tentacruel's smooth skin. "You need to take it to the pokemon center."

Aaron nodded, recalling it and holding tight to the pokeball. He stood up, avoiding eye contact with Kyle, until he held a gym badge in front of him.

"Take it." Kyle held the phoenix badge out to him. It was red-orange in color, but was shaped like he remembered Articuno to look like.

"But your pokemon…" Aaron glanced around Kyle to Arcanine. "It can still fight."

"No he can't." Kyle said firmly. "Take it and get your pokemon some medical attention.

Aaron nodded, then turned and ran out of the gym, dashing down the long hallway. When he was gone, Kyle turned around to Arcanine. He was looking around, ears perked and fully alert. His eyes were darting around.

"Arcanine!" Kyle grabbed his attention for a moment, crossing the room over to him. He put his hand on his side, and noticed a patch of his fur was torn and the skin underneath scabbed. "What? When did this get here?"

Arcanine lifted his head slightly to look behind him. Kyle turned to see Shonna, skipping across the gym floor. Lucario walked slowly behind her, stopping at the doorway.

"Hi! I'm home." She laughed. "I passed by a boy who looked really down in the dumps. You didn't pulverize his pokemon did you?"

"Pretty much." Kyle grumbled, looking back up at his dog. "Something's wrong with Arcanine."

"Huh?" She stopped skipping.

"Something's up." He reached up to pet the back of his neck. "What's wrong boy?"

"Ar." Arcanine just looked down and whined a little.

"Look at this." Kyle pulled back the orange fur to reveal the scabbed skin.

"Oh." She walked closer, inspecting the injury. "It looks like an old wound, but a bad one. It doesn't even look like it came from a battle. It looks…" She paused.

"What?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Kind of like when wild pokemon fight. But that's impossible." There was an awkward pause.

"I don't understand." Kyle gently brushed back Arcanine's fur. "Normally I would be able to tell what's going on with him. But today he seems so distant…"

"Maybe I could have Lucario talk to him?" She suggested. "He could relay to me what's wrong."

Kyle nodded, but as they turned to face Lucario, they saw two other figures coming through the doorway. Lucario courteously moved out of their way. One of the men was Bill. He didn't look exactly like he had the last time they'd met in person. The few videophone conversations they'd had throughout the years hadn't really done him any justice either. But he was still dressed to the nines in a button up shirt, slacks and a striped tie. His brown hair was longer, and wavy. He had gotten taller too. Kyle silently wondered if he had intended to have the millionaire computer genius look, because he had it.

"Bill!" Kyle laughed out. "You look well. I haven't seen you with that hairstyle since we were kids."

"And you," He stepped toward us. "Haven't changed at all my friend." Bill looked to me. "It's good to see you again Shonna. You're just as beautiful as I remember."

Her cheeks flushed slightly. "Yeah, it's been a long time. Five years, right?"

He smiled in recognition, and turned to the older gentleman behind him. He looked to be in his late thirties maybe, with kind of wild black hair that framed his unshaven face. "This is a good friend and former professor of mine. Professor Robert Ignite."

They shook hands with him, and Shonna even bowed politely.

"In college he taught Pokemon Crime Syndicate History and Biology of Fire Pokemon. He's an expert in fire pokemon. We were in the area, so I told him he should drop by and see you."

"Yes." Ignite stepped forward. "I heard you had several specimen of strong fire type pokemon, and I wanted to come see for myself."

Kyle couldn't figure out why, but he didn't really want to show this guy his pokemon. There was nothing particularly distrusting about the man, but…

"Oh!" Shonna clapped her hands together. "I know! You should have him look at Arcanine! He's been acting strange lately and we don't know why."

Kyle frowned. He wanted to figure that out on his own. But he couldn't stop him now as the professor walked behind him to look at Arcanine, who was lying down on the gym floor.

He put his hand on Arcanine's side, down around his stomach. When he did, Arcanine raised his head up to look at him. He snarled, curling his lips back and making the professor step back.

"Arcanine!" Kyle scolded him once more.

"It's all right." Ignite chuckled. "He's just agitated because the fire in his flame sac is almost completely exhausted."

"His what?" Shonna questioned.

"For most fire pokemon, they create fire by a process that involves an intake of hydrogen from the air, as well as oxygen, which is held in the flame sac. The organ is highly acidic, much like our own stomachs, and it turns the product into hydrogen gas. From there, it only takes the vibrations of traveling up their esophagus to cause it to spark."

"I guess that makes sense." Kyle agreed. "I mean, I figured it was something along those lines."

Bill nodded, but he noticed Shonna staring into space blankly. "Shonna?"

She blinked. "Wha-what?"

Ignite chuckled. "It's all relative to the piezoelectricity effect my dear."

"Electricity?" Shonna narrowed her eyebrows. "Hold up! I thought we were talking about fire pokemon!"

Everyone began to snicker, then erupt into laughter.

"What?" What?" Shonna wailed, then began to laugh herself.

**x-x-x**

Lucario's voice interrupted my laughter. _"Ma! Ma!"_

"_Oh. Lucario."_ I was even laughing in my head. "_What's up? Did you ask Arcanine what's going on with him?"_

"_No. For some reason, he's completely shut me out of his mind. He's totally drained and weak."_

"_It's strange isn't it?"_ I stopped laughing and turned to Arcanine, who was curled up against the wall asleep. _"I know Kyle hasn't been working him that hard. But maybe he just needs some rest."_

"_If I may,"_ Lucario stepped closer. _"I have an idea. Arcanine can't be doing this to himself during broad daylight when you both are awake, maybe he's sneaking out at night? I could keep watch over his pokeball tonight."_

I laughed on the inside once more. _"Arcanine sneaking out? He's huge! Don't you think we would notice?"_

"_Seeing the way you sleep. No."_

"Excuse me?" I yelled aloud. Everyone turned to look at me, I must have interrupted their conversation. "Oh sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was just asking them both how they ended up in Sinnoh." Kyle reminded, though he must have known what I was doing.

"I was asked to come and speak at a convention that my colleague Bebe is hosting here about the future of pokemon storage on PCs." Bill said it proudly, though it sounded like a total snooze to me. "And I invited both of you to come."

"I already agreed." Kyle said, answering before I could.

"Oh uh, sounds great!" I tried to hide my sarcasm. "So! Professor Ignite, is that why you are here as well? For Bill's convention?"

"No." He looked away. "I've been here for a couple weeks already. The police task force that is looking into that string of arsons asked me to come assist them. They think I may be able to help them figure out what pokemon is behind this case." He smiled in a guilty way. Sort of like he didn't believe he could. "I'm staying at a hotel in Veilstone City. I just happened to run into Bill again in the lobby. That's when he told me about the fire-type gym that was nearby. I just had to come and see." He turned to Kyle. "I really would love the chance to study more of your pokemon, if you'd allow."

Kyle didn't really look like he wanted to. "They are all pretty tuckered out from battling today. If you're going to be in Sinnoh for a while, you could stop by another time?"

"Sounds grand." Ignite smiled. "I'd recommend lots of water for your Arcanine, by the way. Water is two parts hydrogen after all."

Bill beamed at this notion. "What an excellent deduction Professor."

Ignite just chuckled a bit. "Well, I'll be on my way then. Thank you again, for allowing me to stop by and see your gym." He stepped out, shutting the door behind him.

"He's very polite." I noted audibly. "And speaks so formal."

"Oh yes, the professor has always been like that." Bill smiled.

I smiled back. "You seem to hold a great deal of respect for him Bill."

"Yes well… He was wonderful to have a class with. Very knowledgeable in his field." Bill watched as Kyle walked away from us to Arcanine. "Keep me informed on his condition. I'm very curious as to what's going on with Arcanine."

"Sure." Kyle attempted to offer Arcanine a bowl of fresh water. The dog lapped it up, but weakly. "Bill, you said you were staying in a hotel in Veilstone?"

"Yes." Bill turned to walk across the gym. "I've got a rental car. I'll stop by tomorrow if I get the chance." He waved. "See ya Kyle! "

"Later Bill." Kyle waved back.

Once Bill left the gym I turned to Lucario, who appeared by my side. "Alright. Keep a watch on him."

Lucario grinned. _"No problem. Just no funny business tonight. Okay?"_

"What?" I blushed.

"Let's go to bed." Kyle sighed, recalling Arcanine. I followed him upstairs and got ready for bed. Laying down, I watched as Kyle sat the pokeball on his nightstand, just as he did every night. I tried to stay awake and watch, but my eyes closed more and more by the minute.

"_Ma. Don't worry. I've got this." _ Lucario said, laying in the floor on my side of the bed.

With that, I gave in to the urge and fell asleep.

**x-x-x**

Lucario watched as the time passed. They had been asleep for hours before any movement occurred.

Arcanine's pokeball shook off the bedside table, and fell to the floor, releasing the dog in a red light. Lucario watched from under the bed as orange paws quietly paced across the room, leaving through the door. Lucario stood up, slowly following him down the stairs. At the base of the stairs, he could see Arcanine crossing the gym floor. His amber eyes looked slightly glazed over, almost as if he were in some sort of trance. He exited the building, heading north, out of town.

Lucario stepped out into the night. "How odd. Arcanine should be able to sense me being behind him. Is he that weakened? Or maybe he knows and doesn't care." He watched as the dog all but disappeared in the night sky and the deep grass. "Hmm." He focused, closing his eyes and lifting the aura sensors on his head. The image came clearly in his mind, of Arcanine's silhouette in the grass. He followed the light blue shadow of his aura, but unable to see where he was walking, stepped on a twig and heard it snap beneath his feet. Arcanine's aura stopped, then turned for a second. Lucario held his breath, hoping he was far enough away to not be seen.

Arcanine suddenly turned, his ears perked forward. He bolted, running with every bit of an extreme speed attack.

"Arcanine!" Lucario called out to him, opening his eyes to try and stop his friend. But when he did, he realized where he was. The foggy path just before one would reach Celestic town. He couldn't see anything more than two feet in front of him. "Oh no." He grumbled, trying to pick up Arcanine's aura. It was nowhere in sight. "Drat! I lost him."

He wandered around in the fog, going in circles he assumed, for what felt like an hour. "Arr." He growled. "This is ridiculous. Getting through this fog is going to be impossible!" Then, a desperate sound filled his ears, the sound of people screaming. He turned his head to see an orange light in the distance and followed it immediately. The closer he got, the more the orange light covered the fog. He skidded to a stop when he emerged on the other side. Every building in the small town was covered in flames. His eyes fleeted first to Cynthia's house, which was just as much engulfed in flames as the others. Cynthia's pokemon were all outside, doing everything they could to extinguish the flames. Milotic made quick work of the fire at the pokemon center, and rushed to the next closest building.

"Lucia!" He cried out to the Lucario standing outside Cynthia's house. "Are you okay?"

"Lucario!" She held her paws out toward the house. "Cynthia and her grandmother! They're still in there! She told us to help everyone else, and that she'd be fine, but they're not out yet!"

"Stay here!" Lucario shoved through the door, coughing as the smoke immediately filled his lungs. He stayed low to the ground, dodging burning pieces of wood that were falling all around him. He closed his eyes, focusing until he spotted their auras resonating from upstairs, he bounded up, making the leap in just two swift jumps.

"Come on Grandma! We have to go!" Cynthia cried, pulling on her grandmother's arm.

"No dear, I can't make it down those stairs, go on without me." Her grandmother was weak, coughing in Cynthia's arms.

"I'm not leaving you." Cynthia did her best to lift her grandmother's frail body, but collapsed on her knees, coughing from the smoke.

Lucario rushed into action, scooping up Cynthia's grandmother. Cynthia's eyes brightened at the sight of him, as she found the strength to stand. They raced down the stairs and just as Lucario had got outside and sat the old woman on the ground, he heard something crack and break. A large beam had fallen from inside the house, caught ablaze and blocking the door, with Cynthia still behind it.

He turned to Lucia. "Let's do this together." She nodded in response. The two lucario began forming a ball of aura in their paws, aimed at the door. Cynthia stood back as they released and the aura spheres pushed the beam across the room, shooting it into the wall. Cynthia leaped out, just as the second story of the house collapsed, spreading tiny embers all around.

"Milotic!" Cynthia cried out to her water pokemon, who had just extinguished the last other building in town. The serpent slithered over, dousing the house in a jet of water, until every ember had fizzled out.

"Cynthia!" Nurse Joy came running from the pokemon center. "I've called the Veilstone police. They were too far away for the fire department to help, but they're on they're way to get medical attention for everyone.

"Okay." Cynthia leaned down to her grandmother, who was still coughing and weakened. "Please hang in there Grandma."

"That was a very selfless thing you did Cynthia, having your pokemon help everyone else before it helped you. Thank you for that. You probably saved everyone here, and all the pokemon at the center." Nurse Joy smiled. "You're a hero."

"I'm not the hero here." Cynthia looked up to Lucario. "Thank you."

Lucario put one paw behind his head, as Lucia wrapped her arms around his waist, nuzzling into the fur on his chest. "Ah." He blushed. "Lucia. Did you happen to see what caused this?"

"No." Lucia backed away. "We were all fast asleep when it happened."

Lucario scanned his eyes through the woods for any sign of movement. He listened intently, trying to search for any sound that would point in the direction he went, but soon his ears were flooded with the noise of sirens as ambulance lights cut through the fog. "My old friend." Lucario sighed. "Could you really be behind this?"


	66. The Stuff of Legends!

**x-x-x**

**Chapter 65: The Stuff of Legends**

I had been worried all day as I busied myself with my morning routine at the day-care center, and I knew Kyle had to be worried as well. Both of our pokemon were missing, and the troubling part was that this confirmed something suspicious had to have happened last night. Something made both Arcanine and Lucario leave. I kept an eye on the clock. Kyle had already closed the gym for the day to go look for them. I stared out the window, wondering if I might spot him flying over on Charizard any minute.

The bell rang above the front door, and I tried to put on a smile for the potential customer. Instead, Cynthia walked in, looking a little rough. Following her was Lucario, who didn't look like he'd had the easiest night himself. I was so stunned I didn't even know what to say.

Cynthia sort of fell in a heap over the counter. "Just delivering him back to you, safe and sound."

"Umm…" I gawked at her, wearing dark denim jeans and a low cut black t-shirt. "You're not wearing make-up. That's a different look."

"You just hush." She smiled a little. "I think I've got a good enough excuse, seeing as how it was all burnt up."

I tilted my head, watching as Lucario flopped into a chair.

"Oh gosh." Cynthia raised her head up. "You haven't heard, have you?"

"Heard what?" I asked.

She stood up, putting her long blonde hair behind her ear. "Celestic Town was the latest target of the arsons. The whole town was set on fire last night."

"What?" I leaned forward on the counter, taking note of the slight smell of smoke on her now. "Are you serious? Is everyone okay?"

"No one was killed, pokemon or human, but Grandma didn't handle it too well. She was taken to Veilstone's hospital last night. She still hasn't fully recovered."

"I'm so sorry." I looked down at the floor. "She's like a grandmother to me too. Is there anything I can do?"

"No, it's alright." Cynthia sighed. "I'm trying to get things put back together as quickly as possible. I've already got a crew working on the pokemon center, and a few working on the other houses…"

"But what about yours?" I put my hand on hers. "Don't forget about your house. Granny won't be too happy when she's ready to go home and has none to go back to."

Cynthia laughed. "That's true."

The bell rang again for the front door. We all turned around to see Bill walking in.

"Hey Bill." I said, peering around Cynthia's shoulder. "What's up?"

"Just stopping by." He looked over to Cynthia. "You're Cynthia, correct? The Sinnoh pokemon champion?"

"Yes." Cynthia sort of turned away, showing more of her hair then her face. "And you must be Bill? Creator of the PC system."

Bill chuckled. "I suppose neither of us needs much introduction." He then frowned. "I heard what happened last night to your hometown. I can't believe that another one of those fires has happened so quickly."

"Yes I know." She looked down. "Something has to be done about that. It has to stop."

"I'm sure it will." Bill said confidently. "I have a lot of faith in the task force that's on the case." He put his hands in his pockets. "In the mean time, I want to do anything I can to help. I donated some money toward the town fund. They said only one house hadn't been restored yet, so I gave as much as it would take to get it rebuilt."

"What?" Cynthia stepped back in shock. "You, you didn't have to do that!"

"Oh but I did. It's the only thing I can do to help I'm afraid." He smiled. "But if you think of anything else, please let me know." He glanced back to me. "I stopped by to see Kyle, but he wasn't at the gym. Is everything alright?"

"Oh umm, yeah. He needed to take a day off. Sorry you missed him. I'll tell him you stopped by."

"It's no trouble." Bill grinned. "I was just looking for an excuse to drive the rental." He opened up the door, and waved from the doorway. "If you girls happen to find yourselves in Veilstone give me a call. Maybe we could have lunch or something." He stepped out, making the bell ring once more.

I watched him get in his vehicle and take off down the road. "Oh wow. I didn't know one could rent a porsche."

"Hey!" Cynthia suddenly jerked me over by the collar of my shirt. "I thought you told me that Bill guy was a dork!"

I blinked. "He used to be!"

She let go of me, and began twirling one long lock of hair on her finger.

"Are you blushing?" I asked slyly.

"It was embarrassing!" She slammed her hands down on the counter. "You've got to help me. I need to get a new wardrobe, and make-up… and hair products!"

"Okay, calm down. We'll go to the department store in Veilstone tomorrow. I'll get Angie and Stephen to come in." I grinned. "We'll call Bill and tell him we can make it for lunch."

Cynthia gulped. "After we hit the store, okay? After."

"Sure." I smiled. Then, I saw the discouraged look on Lucario's face, urging me to hurry the conversation along. "Well Cynthia, if there's anything else I can do for you tomorrow, let me know. We'll go see Granny in the hospital too."

"Sounds like a plan." Cynthia held one hand on the doorknob. "Thanks Shonna. I'll see you tomorrow morning." She stepped out, and I saw through the window her flying off on Togekiss.

"Okay Lucario." I turned to him. "What happened last night?"

His face turned sullen. "I don't know honestly. But, I know what I don't want it to be."

**x-x-x**

Kyle felt something break in his heart as he looked down at the orange bundle of fur laying at his feet. In a way, it reminded him of when he'd first found him, as a young growlithe. Even though he was massive now, the way he was huddled up, made him look small and venerable. For a second, he stood motionless, unsure of what to think. "Ar-Arcanine?"

The dog raised his eyelids slightly, looking up with a warm, weak gaze. He didn't even have the strength to lift up his head. He went unconscious.

Kyle leaned down, putting one hand on Arcanine's side. He was covered in cuts and burns. "Arcanine. What have you done to yourself this time?" He closed his eyes, feeling a tear form up. "What's happening to you?" He pushed the button on the pokeball around his neck, zapping Arcanine back inside.

Kyle turned to Charizard. The usually zealous pokemon held a dismal look also. "Charizard, we have to hurry. Let's get to the closest pokemon center!" Kyle threw himself over the dragon's back. Charizard flapped his wings and took off into the sky.

Kyle grimaced. The sun was setting, casting shadows on the burnt remnants of Celestic Town that was only a couple miles from where they'd landed. He sighed. I bet their pokemon center isn't back up to speed yet." He turned to the south slightly. "I guess home is the closest thing." Despite everything, he let a small smile spread across his face. He remembered how most of his life had been on the road, or in a place he couldn't call home. He was glad to finally have a town he could be happy staying in. Though it was inevitable he would be wherever Shonna wanted to be, he had to agree that the town had a certain charm, and the Nurse Joy who worked at the pokecenter was one of the best he had seen.

Charizard swooped down at the Solacean Town Pokemon Center. Kyle jumped off, running straight inside. Nurse Joy sat at the front desk, flipping through a magazine.

"Kyle?" She stood up, able to see the grave look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"It's Arcanine. He's hurt again. It's really bad this time."

Nurse Joy jumped into action. "This way." She led him down the halls of the emergency wing. He probably wasn't supposed to be in there, but Joy trusted him. They entered a surgical room, with the only bed large enough for a pokemon of Arcanine's size. Kyle released him onto the bed, and Joy gasped at the sight.

"You're right. This is bad." Joy turned to her team of chansey. "I need several vials of burn heal and a max potion. And bandages!"

"Chan Chan sey!" The three chansey took off in different directions for the supplies.

Joy nervously adjusted her pink hair. "I'll do what I can Kyle, but I'm not going to sugarcoat this. He's hurt really bad. There's a chance he might not pull through." She began running an IV of fluids. "You brought him in for an injury like this just the other day right? I know that you can't be letting trainers do this him."

"Of course not." Kyle clenched his fist, not wanting to admit what the truth was. "He… has been sneaking out at night, I think. I'm not sure what he's doing to get himself in this shape."

Joy just looked at him. "I imagine that must be frustrating for you." The Chansey arrived with her supplies and Joy began working around Arcanine, disinfecting cuts and burns all over his body. "He's going to have to be here for a while, so I'll make sure he doesn't sneak out. Though I think he'll be in no shape to do so." She dabbed a swab covered in burn heal over his paw. "However, after that, I do have one suggestion."

Kyle just stood back and watched, trying not to be in her way. "And what's that?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but if you can't keep him contained, you might should consider a different pokeball." She crossed the room to stand close to him, and reached up to wrap her fingers around the ball on his necklace, twisting it around to inspect it. Kyle stepped back a bit at the awkward closeness. "As I thought." She let the ball drop. "It's a very old pokeball. The release mechanism could be going bad in it. But for something as dire as this situation, I'd recommend one of those." She stepped back and pointed to a glass cabinet on the wall. She went back to work on Arcanine, and Kyle walked over to look at the case of shiny red pokeballs.

"What's different about them?" He asked.

"There are only a few given out to each pokecenter. They're not for commercial use. Those pokeballs feature a special switch on the back. It's a lock that will keep the pokemon from ever getting out until one flips the switch back."

"What?" Kyle's eyes widened. "That's a horrible thing! I mean, what if the pokemon was in danger, and needed to escape?"

"As I said, they're not available to the public." Joy sighed. "But if you feel it is necessary, you might want to consider it."

"I couldn't do that to Arcanine." Kyle said firmly, though, he felt himself waiver, even as he made the statement.

"I'm not saying you should keep him locked up forever." Joy gave him a serious look. "But Kyle, he could have died this time. If he tries this again, then it would be in not only your best interest, but for Arcanine's safety as well if you kept him contained." There was a long pause. "You don't have to make a decision right now. Just take one and think about it."

Kyle opened up the case and took one of the pokeballs in his hand.

Joy assigned her Chansey some light work, wrapping bandages around Arcanine's legs. "Kyle. I'm going to have to ask you to leave now. I need to work on a couple of these deeper cuts."

Kyle just nodded and headed back down the hall. He looked back once at Arcanine, laying motionless on the table. Sighing, he walked out into the lobby. Shonna and Lucario were waiting there, both held worried looks of dismay.

**x-x-x**

As soon as I closed up the day-care center, Lucario and I crossed the road to the pokemon center. Charizard was sitting outside. I stopped at the entrance. "Hi Charizard. Is Kyle in there?"

Charizard nodded, huffing a few embers from his nostrils.

I smiled at him, then proceeded through the door to the lobby. The place was completely empty. It must have been like that most of the day since Joy's favorite magazine was still open on the front desk. I wondered to myself where Kyle might be, but I had a feeling I knew.

Lucario looked to the entrance of the emergency wing just as I thought it, and the doors flew open. Kyle emerged, looking distraught down at a pokeball in his hand. When he saw me, he compacted the ball and pocketed it.

"Kyle!" I ran up to him. "Arcanine. Is he alright?"

"He's in bad shape." He continued to look down. "He'll be lucky if he makes it."

My breath quivered at the thought of Arcanine dying. It didn't seem possible. Actually, the last few days had all felt like a bad dream. I turned to Lucario, who nodded slowly. "Kyle. Lucario followed Arcanine to Celestic Town. He wouldn't respond to him, and disappeared in the fog, and then Celestic Town was set aflame."

"I know what you're insinuating!" Kyle screamed. "And you're wrong. Arcanine would never hurt people like that!" He calmed down, trying not to be so tense and defensive. "You have to know that too."

I sighed. Deep down, I did know that. "Yes I do. I know Arcanine couldn't do this. But what I'm getting at is that other people don't. And if this keeps 'coincidently' happening…" I lowered my voice. "People might start to suspect something."

Kyle opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. "I don't even know what to do with him." He pulled out a pokeball. "Joy gave me this. It's supposed to ensure pokemon stay locked up, but I'd hate to do that to him."

I leaned against the front desk, feeling drained just talking about all this. "But, you may have to."

He didn't say anything for a while. Then, he jerked the scratched up pokeball from around his neck off the necklace. "Well, I guess it would be best to switch them out now, while he's too weak to fight it." He turned and headed back into the emergency wing.

**x-x-x**

"Quiet everyone! Quiet!" Officer Jenny stood at the podium, hushing the crowd of other cops and fire squad members. "Now I'm calling this meeting to order. You all know your duties on this task force. Our number one goal right now is to find and capture whomever, or whatever is causing these fires. You all come from every region, and all sorts of backgrounds. This situation is reaching critical, so we need everyone focused."

The crowd finally hushed, allowing Jenny to speak.

She pointed to a white board behind her, where a grainy video started playing back. "We have new evidence. A teenager living in Celestic Town caught this on video. Now it's a cell phone, so it's pretty hard to tell much of anything, but in the light from the fire we can see some sort of large quadruped pokemon. It has a lot of fur, which leads us to believe it is canine or lion like." She turned back to the audience. "Does anyone have any guesses as to what pokemon this could be?"

"Isn't it obvious?" A voice said in the crowd. Officer Jun was reclined back in his chair, looking as pompous as he always did. He pulled down on the officer's hat on his head. "That's a pokemon every one of us has. It's an Arcanine."

Jenny couldn't stand his thick-headedness. "Are you making the assumption that one of our police dogs is behind this?"

"Anything is possible at this point." He shrugged. "But it's probably more likely to be a wild pokemon."

"Excuse me." Professor Ignite stood up. "But we can't rule out the possibility that this pokemon is in fact trained by someone. Perhaps a trainer has just lost control of his pokemon."

"That is true. We won't discount any pokemon even is it is trained." Jenny nodded. "Professor, you are very knowledgeable about this subject. Can you confirm that this pokemon is an Arcanine?"

"I won't say for certain it is, but there are very few fire species that fit that size and shape. It is a place to start looking, for sure."

"Very well then. Everyone, keep your eyes out for any suspicious activity coming from an Arcanine, or the trainer of one. At this point, any one is a suspect."

Officer Jun sneered. "Even one of us, Jen?"

She grit her teeth at him not using her formal name. "Officer Jun, I'm sure everyone here would take your notions more seriously if you'd be proper and call me Officer Jenny." She paused. "But yes, even one of us."

She concluded their meeting and decided to leave all the chatter of her fellow coworkers and task force members. She stepped down from the podium and headed out of the conference room. "We must find out who's doing this." She said under her breath as she came to the door to her office.

"If I may." Officer Jenny was startled seeing Professor Ignite standing beside her. "I think I may know a possible suspect."

"Oh?" She unlocked the door to her office. "Come in." She closed the door behind her as he stepped inside. He took a seat in front of her desk. Jenny slumped into the chair. "Now then, Professor Ignite. I take your professional opinion very seriously. So if you have a suggestion as to a possible suspect, I'll gladly hear it."

"This is not something easy for me to come forward about." He looked down at his feet. "The pokemon I've observed with this suspicious behavior, it belongs to someone who is close friends with a colleague of mine."

Officer Jenny leaned forward on her desk. "Nevertheless, you must tell me."

"Very well." Ignite ran a hand down his chin, straightening out his rugged black beard. "The fire type gym leader here. I went to visit him and his Arcanine recently. The pokemon isn't well. It's my own personal opinion that it is exhausting all its fire power on something. This is very unusual behavior it is exhibiting."

"Kyle? Are you talking about Kyle's Arcanine?" Jenny chuckled. "Oh no. It couldn't be that Arcanine. I know Kyle and his wife very well. They are good trainers."

Ignite looked slightly offended. "Regardless, it is showing odd behavior. I think you should at least go check it out."

"Fine." Officer Jenny shrugged. "I don't mind doing that. It's been a while since I've seen them. And I have something to talk with them about anyway." She shuffled the post-it notes around on her desk, pulling one from the pile.


	67. Ignoring the Problem!

**x-x-x****  
**

**Chapter 66: Ignoring the Problem!**

The next morning, I stood waiting outside the day-care center for Cynthia to arrive.

"Don't worry about a thing!" Angie said, leaning up against the fence. "We've got this under control. It'll be good for you to take a day off Shonna!"

"It's not you I worry about." I smiled, looking over her shoulder as Stephen dumped half a bag of pokemon food in front of Torterra.

"Terr…" Torterra glared at him, intimidating another pound of food out of the bag.

Stephen stepped back anxiously. "Now that's enough!"

"Laxxxx!" Snorlax raced out of the tree line, stomping his way over to Stephen.

"Oh crap!" He poured the rest of the bag out on the ground and ran for the storage shed.

I laughed. "Keep him in line, okay Angie?"

She chuckled, brushing back her green hair. She was growing it out. "I think your pokemon do a good enough job of that. But you know I will. Don't worry! Have fun today!"

"I will." Angie left, allowing me a bit of time just to enjoy the morning. It was a beautiful summer day. I felt so good, I'd worn a light blue sundress and a straw hat. I'd actually put away my tennis shoes to wear some fancy sandals. Cynthia would be proud.

But at the same time, I couldn't help but look over at the pokemon center. It felt wrong, to go out and have fun while Kyle was in there feeling miserable. But he also told me not to worry, and to just enjoy the day.

I could hear a vehicle of some kind coming down the road. I recognized the sound of a large motorcycle. I peered around the corner of the center to see Officer Jenny, speeding down the road. She stopped just in front of me.

"Well hello Shonna!" She turned off the bike and lowered the kickstand. "You look like you're enjoying the weather."

"Oh yes." I said, a little embarrassed. "I'm taking the day off today. Cynthia and I are going shopping in Veilstone."

"Sounds like fun!" Jenny laughed.

"You want to come with us?" I offered. "It's your city after all. You could tell us where the best place to eat is!"

"Bellini's! It's a great Italian place." Jenny smiled. "But no. I'm here on official business. I stopped to see Kyle, but the sign on the gym said it's closed. Is he taking the day off too?"

"Umm… yes." I gulped, hoping she'd drop the subject.

"Is he around? I'd like to talk to him."

For a second, I thought about making something up, but I couldn't. "He's at the pokemon center."

"Oh okay." Jenny just kept on smiling. Perhaps there was nothing to be worried about.

Cynthia landed with Togekiss a few feet away from us. She looked about the same as yesterday. Blue jeans and a t-shirt. This time it was some rock and roll band on it. "Hey there." She looked a little humiliated. "Hi Officer Jenny."

"Cynthia?" Jenny blinked. "I almost didn't recognize you. Well I guess you'd better be off Shonna. I won't keep you, but can I ask one favor of you?"

"Oh sure." I smiled. "What is it?"

"While you are in Veilstone, could you stop and visit your father?"

The question completely threw me off guard. I hadn't seen him in nearly 5 years. Just thinking about the guy made anger boil up in me. "Why?"

"Because he asks about you all the time. The warden says he won't shut up about it. He uses his monthly phone call every time to try and get a hold of you."

And I ignore it every time I see the Veilstone Penitentiary on the caller id. I frowned. No part of me wanted to see Dr. Pluto ever again. So I wondered, why all the sudden, would he want to see me?

"Please? Just talk to him. He's driving us all crazy." Jenny pulled the key for her motorcycle, twirling it around on her finger. "You girls have fun today!" She headed into the pokemon center.

Part of me wanted to march in there and listen in, find out what was going to be said. I wondered, if maybe someone had made the connection. If they thought that Arcanine was causing the fires. Would they take Arcanine away? That would just kill Kyle. Or what if they thought Kyle was behind it too? What if they arrested him?

"You okay?" Cynthia was looking at me strangely. "You're biting your nails."

I pulled my fingers away. That was something I never did. "Y-yeah."

"You act like you've committed some crime!" Cynthia laughed. "Come on! Let's head on to Veilstone."

"Sure." I threw myself over Togekiss. But even as we were flying in the air, I looked back at the pokecenter, hoping I'd see Jenny leave. Eventually, the building became just a dot on the ground as we neared Veilstone.

"You want to stop and see Granny first?" Cynthia asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah. That's fine." I held tight to my hat as we landed in front of Veilstone Hospital.

x-x-x

"Kyle?" Jenny was a bit taken back by his appearance, more so than Cynthia even. He was slumped over in a chair in the lobby, asleep.

"Wha?" He opened his eyes. "Oh sorry." He sat up, yawning.

"You look like you haven't been sleeping well." She noted.

"I haven't." He looked up at her. "Officer Jenny? What are you doing here?"

"Oh well, it has been a while. I came to see how you and Shonna were doing. How's married life treating you?"

"Fine." He felt her stares, and knew there was no avoiding the question that was coming. "Arcanine is hurt. I feel like I should be here for him while he recovers."

"Is that so?" She sat down in the chair next to him. "I hate to hear that. How did it happen? Some trainer come and wear you out at your gym?"

Kyle thought about saying yes, if only to keep so much attention away from him. But he couldn't lie to the Officer Jenny who had helped them so much when things got crazy with Ricky. "No Jenny, to be honest I'm not sure how he got hurt."

She stood back up. "Well, I'm not going to play any games with you, I'm sure you know why I'm here."

Kyle nodded, with a serious look on his face. "Investigate all you want into it, but it's not Arcanine."

"Don't say anything yet." Jenny scolded. "No warrants have been issued, so there's no need to get defensive." Despite it being her job, she didn't want to press the matter with Kyle. There would be plenty of time for interrogations later. She smiled, trying to keep things casual. "I'm just going to go talk to Nurse Joy, okay?" She left the room, heading down the halls to the back of the emergency wing. Joy was tending to the pokemon that laid still on the bed. This, Jenny thought was the most shocking lack of resemblance she had seen all day. The strong, giant Arcanine that she had envied for years, looked utterly helpless. He was covered in bandages, with wires hooked up all over him.

Joy looked up as she walked in. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" She asked.

"Hmph." Jenny grinned. "I'm a cop. I don't have to ask to come in."

"Yes I know." Joy smiled. "But do at least knock. You startled me."

"Sorry." Jenny walked a little closer, to stand beside Arcanine. "So what's his story?"

"Am I required to answer that?" Joy asked with a hint of resistance.

"Yes."

"Well. He was brought in a few days ago with an injury to his side. Yesterday, He's brought in like this. Multiple lacerations and burns."

Jenny flipped open her notebook and began writing. "And in your own medical opinion, could these injuries have occurred from this pokemon being in the middle of a fire, or lets say for the sake of argument, causing it?"

Joy looked up at her firmly. "Absolutely not."

Jenny was taken back a bit by the quick answer.

"The burns, maybe could happen from that. But there is no way that these cuts could be caused in that way."

"Any chance of self-mutilation?"

"Jenny, please!"

"For arguments sake." Jenny reminded.

"No. No chance. Several of the areas are in places Arcanine couldn't possibly reach. In fact, one of the most concerning to me, is a bite across the back of his neck."

Jenny continued to write things down, with a smile.

Joy continued. "And you can tell everyone there that my medical opinion is that this was caused by him fighting with another pokemon."

"Another pokemon? Like in a battle?"

"No. This is completely wild and unrestrained."

"Interesting. Have you told this to Kyle yet?"

"No. But I will as soon as I finish making my evaluation."

"Okay. Thank you Nurse Joy." Jenny flipped the notebook closed. "And just so you know, nothing will be charged against him, as long as no new evidence arises. There isn't enough here to build a case against him." She started to walk out. "However, if anything else suspicious happens, that could change." She felt Nurse Joy's eyes follow her as she walked out of the center.

x-x-x

"Granny seemed like she's doing well." I mentioned as we walked the streets of Veilstone. "She must be feeling better if she tried to offer to fix us tea. Bless her heart though. She didn't realize she wasn't at home."

Cynthia stuck her hands in her pockets. "She also forgot you don't like tea."

"Well she almost always does that." I reminded. "But the doctor said she could go home soon." I watched my sandals click against the pavement. "How's the restoration going on your house?"

Cynthia smiled. "The construction crew that was hired for it are doing a great job. It's nearly done. I'm just trying to get the final touches. I think it's going to look even better than before."

"Hmm." I nudged her side. "I guess Bill hired the best huh?"

She looked away. "I guess."

I giggled. "You're pretending not to be interested."

"Who said I was?" She put on her confident smile. "I'm the pokemon champion. I could have any guy I wanted."

"Don't tell me you still act like that." I shook my head. "Aren't you ready for a serious relationship?"

Cynthia huffed.

Two men from across the street were watching us. I noticed them point and nod at each other. They looked nice, I mean… well dressed and all. They crossed the street in front of us. "I'm sorry but we just had to come tell you how beautiful you are."

Cynthia grinned. "See." She whispered. "I've still got it."

"I'm serious." One of the men stepped forward. He touched the camera around his neck. "With your looks, you could be a model. I'm a photographer, and I just had to ask, if you might consider letting me photograph you?"

Cynthia beamed. "Well I…"

The man interrupted, stepping closer to me. "With the straw hat and that pretty blond hair, you look just like a southern belle."

"Yeah." The other man agreed. "She looks like someone in a painting from our art history class."

I began blushing. "You mean me?"

"Of course!" The man smiled. "It would only take a second. We're attending art school, and I need to get some portraits to add to my portfolio. What do you say?"

I looked to Cynthia, who just gave me a sort of jealous smile. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt."

"Great!" He held his camera up, adjusting the zoom. "My name's Victor, by the way. And this guy here is my friend Cole."

"Shonna." I said, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "And this is Cynthia."

He focused in. "Hey, try to act natural okay? Look away from the camera."

"Okay." I pushed a piece of hair back behind my ear that was blowing in the breeze. I heard the camera snap a couple times. I began to like the attention and turned around to face the camera once more.

Victor laughed. "We're taught in class that a person smiling for the camera is not as successful of a portrait." He snapped a picture. "But I disagree. You have a beautiful smile."

Cynthia grabbed my arm. "Alright Mr. Artsy Casanova. I hate to rain on your parade, but she's a married woman." She held up my hand, showing off the ring on my finger.

Victor let out a cheery laugh that sounded almost musical. "I didn't mean to give the wrong impression. I really am just doing this for my class. And, I know beauty when I see it."

Cynthia grumbled. "I don't think so."

Cole walked over to her and pointed to her t-shirt. "Hey. The Bluk Berries! I haven't listened to any of their songs since I was in high school!"

Cynthia mumbled something incoherent. "Come on Shonna! Let's get out of here. We've got shopping to do!" She began dragging me away by the arm.

"Thank you!" Victor said, waving to us, smiling all the while.

x-x-x

Arcanine's eyes flew open, his ears perked, and though it ached every bone in his body to do so, he sat up, looking at the room he was in, hooked up to all sorts of medical equipment. The Nurse Joy he knew so well, looked at him with nervousness, and was gripping tight to a needle with something in it.

And there it was again. The sound that never failed to wake him from his slumber, even from within his pokeball. The sound that called to him, telling him to come. He stood up on the bed, shakily.

"Arcanine!" Nurse Joy readied the needle. "Lay back down. Be a good boy."

Arcanine wanted to lay back down, but he couldn't. He knew what always came after that sound. He had to stop it. He was the only one that could. He jumped off the table, pulling medical equipment with him until it snapped and toppled the monitors into the floor. Nurse Joy jumped back in surprise as the dog took off down the hall.

"Kyle!" She screamed. "He's coming your way! Stop him!"

Here came the hard part. The part he didn't want to deal with. As soon as Arcanine crossed through the double doors to the lobby, Kyle was there, staring him down.

"Arcanine! Stop right now." He commanded. He held up his pokeball in front of him.

Arcanine did stop, but the call cried out to him once more. He dove right, skidding across the tile floor.

"Arcanine! Return!"

Arcanine's foot just missed the beam of red light. Kyle was blocking the door, so that left his only option being the window. He closed his eyes, and leaped through it. In the grand scheme of things, the tiny glass shards that pierced his skin didn't hurt that bad. As soon as he landed on the other side, he could see the day-care center across the road, and all his friends, staring at him as if he were some sort of escaped convict.

"Arcanine!" Lucario bounded over the fence. "What are you doing?"

He wanted to tell him, but there was just no time. He ran north, out of town, desperate to make it to where he needed to go. He could sense that Kyle was riding on Charizard behind him, in close pursuit.

Arcanine thought, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let him follow . Then he could see what's really going on. But he knew that no matter what, he couldn't allow him to capture him. He squeezed his eyes shut, and braced for the pain as he kicked in his extreme speed.

x-x-x

I couldn't help but smile at Cynthia in the department store. She was skipping from one area to the other, gathering up in her arms a huge pile of clothes, shoes, make-up, perfume and hair products. She beamed as she tried on every single outfit, asking if I liked it.

"I don't think it's me you're trying to impress." I laughed.

"No but you aren't quite the wallflower I thought you were! You certainly held the attention of that Victor guy."

"He was a nice young man." I said young man to try and stress that I wasn't interested in him at all. It was kind of a strange statement, since he probably wasn't much younger than me.

"He was totally flirting with you." She twirled around to look at herself in the mirror. "And not me! I mean, what gives?"

"Oh Cynthia," I walked over to her. "He just hadn't seen you in this long black coat."

"I know." She smiled. "It's just like my old one. I'm so happy I was able to find one."

Cynthia pinned a couple pins in her hair. They were black onix paisleys, that sort of resembled the teardrop shaped ones she used to own. She had found her a pair of black pants, and a v-neck shirt that was a little more revealing than her last one. But overall, it was her same favorite look. "I feel so much better." She smiled. "Thank you for coming with me."

"It's no problem. I'm having fun too you know."

"Why don't you try something on?" She held out a two piece swimsuit. "You need to get ready for summer. Wouldn't Kyle like this?"

I backed away, feeling embarrassed. "He probably would. But no, I'm not really interested in stuff like that today."

"Oh? How about a makeover then?" She flew over to the make-up counter. "Come on!"

"You go ahead!" I waved at her. "I'll be over in a minute."

Cynthia didn't hesitate to sit down at the counter, chatting it up with the salesperson there, and having her make-up done. Meanwhile, I snuck off to roam the department store. I picked up several things and looked at them, but ended up putting them down. I was especially tempted by a purse that matched the outfit I had on, but again, I didn't buy. Something about today felt surreal. Also, I still felt it was unfair for me to be out having fun while Kyle was stuck at the pokemon center worried about Arcanine. I felt like I should be there too. I should be there for him.

I had stopped in my tracks, lost in thought for apparently a long time.

"Hey. What are you looking at?" Cynthia peered around my shoulder and gasped.

I stopped spacing out and looked in front of me. "Oh!"

"Baby clothes?" Cynthia picked up an adorable pair of pink socks with bunearys on them. "Hey hold up… are you?" When I didn't react she started freaking out. "Oh my gosh you are!"

I held my hands up defensively. "Now wait a minute! I didn't say anything!"

"But you so are! I see it now! It's written all over your face!" Cynthia began bursting out in laughter. "That's why that guy wanted to take pictures of you. You're glowing!"

"I… what?" I felt a streak of red flush across my face.

Before this conversation could continue any further, something was causing a commotion. People were gathered over by the window. I ran over to look. From the third story of the department store, I could see Arcanine, standing in the middle of the street, looking around for something.

"Arcanine!" I raced for the stairs, since people were crowding the elevator.

"Wait!" Cynthia cried, but she couldn't follow me since she hadn't paid for all her items yet. She stood waiting at the cash register as I raced down the stairs. I turned the corner on one heel, flying down the stairwell.

"What's Arcanine doing out here?" I asked aloud. "What's he thinking? Coming out here in the city, making such a scene! He's going to get in trouble!" I finally reached the bottom floor and shoved my way through the people blocking the door. Arcanine was just standing there in the middle of the street. Cars were honking their horn, and people were screaming at him to move out of the way. Meanwhile, he looked like he was in a daze, looking in every direction for… something. "Arcanine!" I yelled. He turned and saw me, but gave me a confused look. "Arcanine! Get out of the road boy. You're blocking traffic!" I ran up to him and pushed on his side, trying to get him to move.

"Ar." He whimpered a little, and walked over to the sidewalk.

"Get a hold of that crazy mutt!" A man yelled from his car as traffic resumed. People were staring at me, and I didn't really know what to do. Arcanine still looked lost, scanning the whole city and sniffing the air. He looked alerted to something, and took off for the eastern part of the city, where the meteorites were.

"Arcanine! Wait! You need to be still. You need to rest!" I chased after him, trying to tug on his leg and make him stop.

He looked at the forest beyond the meteorites, and began to growl. His eyes turned deep amber, and flames began to swell in his throat.

"Return!" I heard from the air. Arcanine disappeared from in front of me. I saw Kyle above on Charizard. He held the pokeball in his hand, and it looked like it pained him to do so, but he flipped the switch on the back of it. He and Charizard landed, and he hopped off him to stand beside me. He smiled, and kissed me on the cheek. "Try to act natural." He whispered.

I found that nearly impossible, with everyone still staring. "Oh. Did you come to see me today? Trying to intrude on my day out with Cynthia?"

We laughed, and soon enough, everyone began to carry on with their normal routine. But I knew it was too late. This was going to look very bad. We stood there for a while, not saying anything.

"So," I said in a low tone. "What now?"

"Now?" He rolled the pokeball in his hand. "We find out if this lock works I guess."

Cynthia's voice rang out, though out of breath. "Hey no fair! I know you have to go easy on yourself, but you could at least carry some of these bags!"

I felt myself go rigid and turned to put one finger over my mouth in an attempt to hush her.

"Oh." Her eyes widened. "Little fragile 'southern belle' as that one guy called you."

I slapped my forehead. That was not any better.

"What guy?" Kyle asked.

"Just some college guy. He was a photography student. He took my picture." I laughed, a little nervous he might get jealous.

"He did, did he?" Kyle pulled down on my hat in a playful way. "I take my eyes of you for a few hours and you have guys aiming their cameras at you?"

I giggled. "It was fun, I felt like a model for all of like, two minutes."

"Hmph." He ran a hand over his brown hair. "I knew I shouldn't have let you go out on the town with Cynthia." He wrapped his arms around me and looked to her. "That's it. I'm going to steal her back now."

"No you're not!" Cynthia punched him in the arm. "Hand her over. She's not done helping me."

"Looks like you've got your old look back to me Cynthia ." He let go of me and smiled.

A sneaky grin crossed my face. "Well, we were going to go eat lunch with Bill. Would you like to come Kyle? Then it could be a double date."

This time Cynthia went rigid.

Kyle laughed, but didn't comment on it. "No that's okay. I'm going to head back home, try to get my mind off things." He gave me one last kiss on the cheek. "See you tonight." He ran back to Charizard, hopped on, and took off.

"He seems well." Cynthia said, watching him disappear in the sky.

I smiled, but I knew that whole thing had been a good façade. Truthfully, he must be going through a lot. He just wanted to try and act cheery so I wouldn't worry about him. But I was worried. About him and Arcanine both.

Cynthia could tell that something was wrong too, but she knew not to mention it. She knew I would tell her all about it when I felt up to it. So instead, she changed the subject. "So when are you going to tell him?"

I put on a smile. "When things calm down and aren't so crazy."

"How long have you known?"

"Not long. Just a couple weeks."

Cynthia beamed. "I bet you're just so excited!"

I blushed a little. "I am. And I want to wait until a time when he can be too, before I tell him. He's got a lot to deal with right now."

"With Arcanine." Cynthia said it as a statement, not a question.

"Yeah." I hung my head a little.

"Don't worry about it." Cynthia smirked. "Right now, let's head for that little restaurant. And along the way, you can tell me more about this Bill guy."

x-x-x

Victor sat down on a bench at the eastern part of the city. Cole had made a break for the game corner, and hadn't spent a minute of his trip finding good subject matter for his photos. But then again, he didn't take photography seriously like Victor did.

He looked up into the sky, seeing the clouds roll by. It was pretty day he thought, and not one that should be spent entirely on getting ready for finals week.

Some sort of uproar was starting. He sat up, seeing the people on the sidewalk in front of him stop and watch something. Then, they parted, jumping back as a huge orange dog pokemon headed his way.

Victor got up, and readied his camera. "An Arcanine? It looks really beat up."

"Arcanine!" The girl, the pretty one from before, came to try and comfort the beast. Victor watched from a distance as the creature lowered, and growled. His eyes poised on the trees not far from where he stood. He was recalled, and then a man landed. They laughed, and it seemed strange, like it was all an act. Victor watched as the man left, and soon enough, the woman and her friend headed off in the other direction.

"How odd." Victor said, glancing back to the tree line. His curiosity led him past the tourist trap of the meteorites, and out of the city. He walked slowly out into the forest. Something was wrong. He could feel it. There were no pokemon roaming about, not even any sounds of starly in the trees. It was too quiet.

A twig cracked, grabbing his attention. Victor twirled around and snapped his camera. When he lowered it though, there was nothing there. He waited a minute, but nothing appeared. "Hmm." Victor frowned. He still couldn't hear anything but the sounds of the city nearby. He shrugged, and walked back out the way he came.

x-x-x

We walked into the restaurant where a hostess greeted us pleasantly, informing us that our table was the best in the house. I couldn't help but wonder if it was because we were league champions. My hopes were dashed when Bill waved from the seat. "Oh. It must have been by his reservation." I grumbled.

We were seated in a cozy area, with very few other tables around us. Ours was the closest to a large fireplace, providing a nice inviting atmosphere.

"Ah!" Bill was dressed up in a grey suit. He stood up when he saw the hostess lead us his way. "I'm glad you both could make it." He pulled our seats out, being polite as always. We sat down and scooted forward. I was glad then that Cynthia had stopped at the pokecenter to deposit all her bags into her pc. We would have been swamped by them if she hadn't. I smiled to myself, knowing that the man who made that possible was sitting across from us.

"Thank you for inviting us." Cynthia said, pushing some of her long blond hair behind her ear.

This made me smile also. Though she may be denying it, I could tell Cynthia was attracted to Bill. And not like she was with other guys. This wasn't the same as her 'one night stand flirtation'. But how odd it is! I gazed out the window. Cynthia and Bill were not a pairing I had ever envisioned.

I whispered just under my breath. "I hope she's not just interested in his money."

"Shonna?" Bill looked at me questionably. "You okay?"

"Hmm?" I laughed nervously. "Yeah. Just watching the people out there. City people act so strange!"

Cynthia and Bill both gave me a funny look for this. "You'll have to forgive her." Cynthia said coolly. "It's probably the hormones. They're affecting her brain."

"Hey!" I shot back. I blinked, glancing over at Bill, who tried to maintain a dumbfounded look.

"Umm… right." His smile wavered a little.

I nudged Cynthia in the arm. "Cynthia's always joking around like that. So! Bill!" I decided to change the subject. "Cynthia and I were just talking about how grateful we were that you made a way for us to store items and such. She was able to store all her things she bought today."

Bill laughed, putting one hand behind his head. "I get that a lot. But nobody really needs to be thanking me for that. It was just the result of me tinkering around a bit on the computer. I just got lucky."

Cynthia looked down, smiling slightly. She placed her hands on the table, holding one in the other. "I wish that I had used the item storage part more before the fire. Then I could have saved more of my things."

This made us both go quiet. After a minute, Bill reached his hand across the table, placing it over Cynthia's. "I'll help you in any way I can. Just name it. I'll try to get back whatever you lost."

Cynthia's eyes widened. It was impossible to ignore the flush on her face. Even I was blushing at the scene in front of me. I wondered if I should even be there. Already I felt like I was intruding on something. A special moment.

The waiter walked up to our table asking what we wanted to drink. Cynthia jerked her hand back as if she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't. She pulled the menu up over her face, trying to hide her blush.

"Just water for me." I said.

"I'll have that as well." Bill answered.

"Mmm…" Cynthia looked at the menu, as though she were really thinking about it. "I'll have your best Merlot."

"Ah!" The waiter looked happy just from the word. "A glass of Floaroma Merlot for the lady?"

"A bottle!" She beamed. "It is a special night after all."

"I'll bring that out to you right away." The waiter turned on his heels, striding away.

"Cynthia!" I hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Oh hush." She waved her hand at me. "I know you can't have any, but I'm sure Bill will share with me!"

Bill smiled. "It's an excellent choice, but I'm afraid I can't. I'm going to be driving out of town tonight and I'd rather not chance it."

"Oh?" Cynthia looked disappointed. "Oh well."

Bill suddenly looked like he had realized something. "But Shonna, why couldn't you have any?"

"Excuse me." I stood up, pulling on Cynthia's arm. "We need to go freshen up." I yanked Cynthia out of her seat and straight to the ladies room. Seeing no one was inside, I turned around. "Just what are you thinking!"

"You're no fun at all Shonna." Cynthia put one hand on her hip. "Just because you can't…"

"You shouldn't!" I pointed one finger to her face. "I know you, and I know how you handle alcohol."

Cynthia just started laughing and turned to the mirror, combing through her hair with her fingers. "I know. You're right. It's silly, but I just thought it would impress him, you know? Show him how sophisticated I am."

My shoulders sank. "If you have more than one glass of that, you're going to be the furthest thing from sophisticated."

"It's okay." She turned, putting both hands on my shoulders. "I'll stop at that, okay?"

I was still worried, but shrugged it off. "Kay."

Cynthia blushed again. "Shonna. How did you know that you were in love with Kyle?"

The question took me off guard a bit. "It's going to sound dumb, but I kind of knew from the moment I met him, though I didn't want to accept it at the time." I looked down at the floor. "No body believes me about that."

She smiled a genuine smile. "I believe you." She turned on her high heels. "You two are amazing. You're going to be great parents."

I frowned a little, wondering when I could start thinking of us as that. "Thanks." I followed her out, back to the table.

"Sorry about that!" Cynthia sat down first, spying her wine glass in front of her.

"It's fine." Bill tapped the side of the bottle. "He brought our drinks while you were gone."

"Excellent!" Cynthia laced her fingers around the glass that had already been poured for her. "You're still welcome to some, if you'd like."

The waiter came and took our order for the food. I tried to listen intently to Bill and Cynthia's conversations, but I found my mind wandering again as I peered out of the glass to the darkening sky. _Is Kyle alright? He must be so worried about Arcanine. I am too. I hate that he had to lock him up. That must be just so hard on him._ I tapped my fingers against the table._ And then, there's something else bothering me. My father._ I looked up to the hill that sat north of Veilstone. They had rebuilt the penitentiary to sit right where Team Galactic's headquarters used to be. _Why after all this time, would he suddenly want to speak with me again? I thought I made it perfectly clear the last time that I was done talking to him_. I bit my lip_. And yet, I wondered what he had to say. _The waiter came and sat my plate down in front of me, but I mainly picked at it with my fork, continuing to stare out the window. _Was I losing my resolve? Did I actually want to visit him again? It's too late to do it today though. But, first I need to focus on Kyle and Arcanine, then this. _I gently placed one hand on my stomach, feeling the rush of emotions that came with it. I smiled. _When all this is over, I wonder how I'll even begin to tell him…_

"Uh… Shonna?" Bill's voice was a little shaky. I pulled my hand away, afraid he'd figured out my secret. I turned to look at him, and for the first time in a long time, I saw that side of Bill I knew from before. The one that easily lost his composure. He looked embarrassed.

"So seriously." Cynthia had her arms crossed and was leaning way forward in her seat. Her low v-neck shirt was not the kind to be doing that in. "What do you say we get out of here and go back to your hotel. I bet you've got the best room ever." Her cheeks were flushed, and her gray eyes a little glossy. "Presidential suite right?"

My eyes drifted to the bottle beside her that was half empty. "Oh jeez Cynthia. Tell me you didn't."

"Hmm?" Cynthia looked at me strangely, like she had forgotten I was there. "Oh hi Shonna."

I whispered to her. "You said one glass! How many have you had?"

She laughed, leaning back in her chair. "Calm down! I know you're going to be a mom, but you're not mine!"

I choked a little. "I.."

Bill looked shocked. "I didn't know you were… you're pregnant?"

I sighed. "Bill I'm really sorry about this, but could you give us a ride back to Solacean? I don't trust Cynthia flying on Togekiss, and I left all my pokemon at home."

"It's no trouble at all." He flagged down the waiter for the check, and handed him a credit card immediately. I tried to protest, but he wouldn't let me get a word out. "Consider it my gift to you." He winked. "Congratulations, by the way."

"Thank you." I smiled. Cynthia was practically dancing in her seat. "Yeesh. Let's try to get her out of here without making too much of a scene."

When Bill got his card back, he walked over and helped Cynthia up. He wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her up as she stumbled out of the restaurant. In the dark parking lot she tripped, but Bill caught her and pulled her back up.

She giggled and wrapped her arms around Bill's waist, pushing herself into Bill's arm. "I knew you'd see it my way. That bed is way too big for just you, isn't it?"

Bill laughed, again looking for a moment like the young guy I knew who would blush if a girl even looked his way. "That's right." He gently sat her down in the back seat of his car. "You've got me all figured out."

Cynthia grinned and fell back into the seat, laying across it. She passed out there, looking happy and triumphant. Bill closed the door and walked around to the passenger's side, opening it for me. "Your friend is a real wild card."

"Yes she is." I sat down and waited for him to come around to the other side before I continued. "She's a great friend. She just can't hold her alcohol at all."

Bill started the engine and didn't say anything. He backed out, and pulled into the city traffic. We stopped at a red light when I spoke again.

"Bill, if you don't mind me saying so, you have turned into quite the ladies man."

He grinned. "You can thank your husband for that. He has given me pointers."

"Oh right." I remembered how Kyle used to flirt with me all the time. "He is quite the charmer. But not lately. This stuff with Arcanine has really got him depressed."

Bill frowned, pulling forward onto a main road. "What's going on Shonna? Truthfully. I might be able to help."

I sighed. I knew he could help. With all his connections, it would be good to have someone like him on our side. "Someone alerted the police to Arcanine's behavior. They think he might be involved in those fires."

"What?" Bill slowed down a little and glanced my way. "Then, this whole situation has gotten very serious."

"Very." I looked down at the floor mats. Everything in this car looked expensive and new. "Kyle's not taking it well. He's acting like he's okay, but I can tell this is hard on him."

"And how about you?" Bill gave me a concerned expression. "How are you handling all this?"

"Me?" I was confused.

"Yes you." He smiled. "You can't let yourself get too stressed out over this."

"Oh." I turned to look out the window. "Kyle doesn't know yet. Could you not tell him?"

He chuckled. "Yeah. Your secret is safe with me."

"Ah!" I turned back around. "Oh Bill, I'm sorry! You said you had to be out of town tonight. Is there somewhere you needed to be?"

"Just some stuffy pre-conference about the future of where the pc will be in 5 years. It's just a rehearsal for the real one." We pulled in beside the Solacean Gym. "I'll call Bebe tomorrow and ask her to cover for me."

I blinked. "You're not going?"

Bill came around and opened the door for me. "I'm going to be here for you both. Can I come in and talk to Kyle?"

"Sure."

Cynthia was still half-asleep as Bill and I pulled her out of the vehicle. She managed to stumble along as Bill helped her inside. I was concerned when I saw the lights were off. I turned them on as we went upstairs. Bill sat Cynthia down on the couch and watched as I looked around the apartment. "He's not here."

Bill didn't say anything as I walked over to the ladder at the end of the stairs. It was the last place I knew to check. "Bill, could you watch over Cynthia for a minute?"

He looked down at Cynthia, then back to me. "Uh, sure."

I climbed up the ladder, through the entrance to the roof. We used to have a chair up there, to watch the stars. But to my dismay, Kyle was not up there. I stood, looking around in a bit of a panic. "Maybe he went to the pokemon center?"

"He's not there." A familiar aloof voice rang through my head. "I could take you to him." I turned around, seeing a purple hole in the space behind me.

"Could it be?" I didn't take the time to think about it before racing through the portal.


	68. Reunited with the Legends!

x-x-x

**Episode 67: Reunited with the Legends!**

I fell through the hole in space, right into a pile of snow. I threw my arms around me. I was surrounded in darkness, and the only thing I could see around me was snow falling. An icy wind blew my hat off, and carried it away into the night.

"Where am I?" I screamed out, hearing my voice echo. I dropped to my knees, shivering in my summer dress. I closed my eyes in a desperate attempt to keep the snow and ice from stinging them. While my eyes were closed, I felt something shield me from the snow, and I was being lifted into the air. I opened my eyes to see pink and white claws surrounding me. In the snow, the monster was actually camouflaged fairly well. But its yellow eyes stood out, glaring at me. The creature pulled me up close against its body, pushing his arms around me. The beast felt cold like metal, but being protected from the snow already made me feel a lot better.

"You're not exactly a warm fuzzy pokemon." I reminded.

_"And I would not be doing this for you if you were not with child."_

"Nice to see you again too." I smiled. "Palkia."

It craned its long neck to look down at me and nodded_. "I could sense your fret over him. I thought you should know he was here."_

"Here?" I peered over its arm to look all around. "I don't see him."

_"Not here."_ Palkia walked forward a couple of steps then pointed a claw out to a cavern, hollowed out into the mountain. "_There."_ It set me down gently at the entrance._ "Go on in. Before you freeze out here."_

I looked back. Palkia was already stomping away into the blizzard. "Thank you." I muttered. I crossed my arms in front of me, and entered the cave. The cavern was not as cold as the blizzard outside, but everything inside was covered in ice. Just beyond the icy rocks and stalactites, were Kyle, Charizard, and Articuno.

Articuno peered my way, making Kyle turn to see me. "Shonna!" He ran over to me, throwing his coat around my shoulders. "What are you doing here?"

I rushed over to the warmth of Charizard's tail. "I don't know. Palkia sent me here. And where is 'here' exactly?"

_"You're at the top of Mt. Coronet." _Articuno's slick voice answered. _"This is the place that Palkia and I have found solace."_

"You like it up here?" I shivered. "Well, I'm glad I guess. And it's good to know you both are safe, but what are we doing here Kyle?"

Kyle sighed stepping forward. "I came to try and get some answers. I wanted to talk to Articuno about Arcanine."

Articuno pushed her wings close against her as she roosted on a rock_. "And though I think you should solve this problem on your own, I will tell you." _She turned her head, like she was gazing off into the distance_. "Arcanine's future is hanging by a thread. It's unbalanced, and hard for me to see anything relating to it. Yours as well, is this way."_

"Huh?" Kyle's eyes widened. "You mean there may be some trouble in our futures as well?"

I clutched my stomach, and Articuno gave me a firm expression. I couldn't quite read it.

_"An event will take place that will threaten your lives, if you choose to try and face what Arcanine is facing."_

"I'll do anything to clear Arcanine's name!" Kyle shouted. "Just tell me what it is and I'll…"

_"I can not clearly see what is causing this." _Articuno interrupted_. "I can only tell you that it is very powerful, and you will not be able to defeat it without help."_

I looked into Articuno's bright blue eyes. "Then… will you be helping us again? You and Palkia?"

_"No. We will not. The help will come from another source." _Articuno looked stern again. _"Someone you know is involved in this. A lust for power has affected them."_

"Someone we know? But who?" Kyle asked.

_"I can not say."_ Articuno ruffled her feathers. _"All of this will only happen if you make the choice to do so. There is another element in this that might affect your decision."_ She turned to me.

I shook my head, trying to silently tell her not to say.

_"In any case, it is your own, very important decision."_ She settled down on her rocky nest. _"I'm afraid that's all I can do for you."_

"Well thank you then." Kyle smiled. "I'm very glad you found a home that works for you."

Articuno huffed_. "It mainly works because of the teamwork between that beast and I. I provide enough snow on this peak to ward off people and gives cover for its large frame, and it teleports any humans that get the crazy idea to come up here, far away from us."_ She made a noise that sort of sounded like a laugh. _"I believe it often puts them back on the bottom of the mountain, making them think they have just went in a big circle."_

We both smiled at this.

Articuno suddenly looked serious again. _"You should go now. Someone is looking for you."_

We weren't able to say another word before a pink film enveloped Kyle, Charizard and I. We were lifted into the air, then thrown into a portal behind us.

x-x-x

Cynthia began to stir when she heard the sound of footsteps, only intensified. She gripped onto her head, and groaned.

"Shh…" A voice hushed her. She opened her eyes to see man's figure in the unfamiliar dark room, leaned over her with a glass of water, and some medicine in the other hand. "Take this."

Cynthia sprung up from the couch, pulling back the blanket from her. She felt relief seeing that she was still fully clothed. Her eyes began to focus and she realized she was in Shonna's apartment over the gym, with… Bill.

Bill tilted his head slightly, and extended his arms once more, offering her the medicine. "You've got a headache, right?"

She grabbed at the pills and shoved them down her throat, drowning them in two gulps of water. She relaxed, but didn't feel comforted by the fact that Bill's suit jacket and tie were draped along the back of the couch. "Um, we didn't… did we do…" She couldn't say it.

Bill's face flushed. A couple buttons on his shirt were undone. "No!" He pulled on his collar. "It's just, the heat from the gym is rising, and I don't know where the controls for the air conditioning are."

Cynthia pointed to the tiny box on the wall by the stairs. She had been here a couple times, and saw Shonna fiddle with it.

"Oh. Must have overlooked it." He ran over to it, pulling the tiny lever down.

She smiled at him, and wiped some sweat off her forehead. She pulled her coat off, showing off her shoulders in her black tank top. "Where are Shonna and Kyle?"

Bill sat down on the other end of the couch, away from Cynthia. "She went up a ladder to the roof. I thought they might be up there talking, but hours passed. I went up there to check on them. Neither one was up there. Maybe they took off on their pokemon or something."

Cynthia held one hand over her head. "I've been out that long?"

"It's nearly morning." Bill smiled slightly.

"Great." Cynthia sulked, pulling her knees up close to her. "I'm sorry Bill. I know I must have acted like a fool. I bet you don't even want to consider a second date." She felt some tears well up in her eyes, and couldn't figure out why. With any other guy, she didn't fear rejection.

"On the contrary." He reached over to place his hand on hers. Again, it made her heart skip a beat. "I would really enjoy that."

Something about the dark room, the heat, and the fact that she had never felt so happy to hear that she got another chance with this guy, made Cynthia unable to stop herself from leaning over to him. She placed one hand over his chest, and leaned in closer. The way his heart started racing, and his muscles tensed, just made her even more excited. She pushed her lips against his, feeling the tension increase, then lessen slowly. He kissed her back, and cautiously wrapped one arm around her back, letting the other hand slide through her long locks of hair.

Cynthia could feel his heart quicken as she reached up for the next button on his shirt, slowly sliding it through…

Footsteps were coming up the stairs. Cynthia opened her eyes and her head writhed when the lights flicked on. She forced herself to open her eyes again to see a very surprised Officer Jenny standing in the room with them.

"Cynthia? And Bill?" Officer Jenny blushed a little. Cynthia was still practically on top of him, burying her face in his neck for some reason. "Uh, the door was unlocked." She supposed she should have knocked anyway, and then reminded herself that she was a cop. She could barge in if she wanted.

Bill looked stunned, like he'd been caught in the act. Regaining some composure, he spoke. "Cynthia, why don't you go lie down in here?" He got up, and led her to the dark bedroom. He blushed again, telling himself he could not allow her to kiss him in there. He gulped, and turned to address Jenny.

Jenny stiffened. "I came to speak with Kyle."

Bill glanced to the ladder behind her. "Well Shonna went up there to find him, but I don't know if they're still there." He decided to play dumb a little. "I guess I got a little distracted."

Jenny turned to the ladder, and made her way up it, shoving on the door through the ceiling.

x-x-x

In an instant, we were back on the roof of the gym. The portal closed behind us, and I turned to Kyle. Behind him, I could see the sun was rising. "Oh wow. Did we really spend that long out there?"

"Hmm." Kyle didn't answer, but he recalled Charizard. "So someone's looking for us?"

"It's probably Cynthia and Bill. I invited them over. I hope you don't mind."

"No I don't." He laughed a little. "So then, that stuff Articuno said was really more confusing then helpful. I wonder what she meant by another element. What could be more important right now then this stuff with Arcanine?"

I shuffled my feet. "Well Kyle I…"

The door to roof slammed open, and Officer Jenny's blue head of hair emerged from it. She climbed up, and stood in front of us. We were both too stunned to say anything as she held up an official looking document.

"Kyle Gray. I have a warrant for the seizure of your Arcanine."


	69. The Apprehension!

**Episode 68: The Apprehension! **

"What did you say?" Kyle wrapped his hand around the pokeball on his neck in a protective manner.

Jenny gave a stern look. "Don't make this difficult. Things will go a lot smoother if you just hand it over peacefully."

"Jenny. I thought you were on my side! You know what Joy said and…"

"This is not by my orders Kyle!" She shouted. "A judge has issued this after the incident yesterday in the streets. He's been deemed too dangerous. Too unpredictable."

"He's not dangerous!" Kyle shouted back. "He's my best friend, and he's not well! But he's locked up in this special pokeball now. He can't even get out of it!"

Jenny's shoulders sank. "Kyle, I highly recommend you not delve into the notion of resisting arrest." She held her hand out. "I'll personally make sure he's safe, but you have to do this."

Kyle cursed under his breath, and shoved the ball into her hand.

She took it in both palms, and stepped back. "I'm sorry. He'll be considered guilty until proven innocent." She ran back to the ladder, sliding down it, out of sight.

Kyle's head was hung low, and I reached out to touch his arm. He flinched when I did so. "Kyle? It'll be okay. We'll find a way to get him back. I promise."

He turned and laid his head on my shoulder. In his face, I could see that he must have felt totally defeated.

**x-x-x**

We slowly climbed down the ladder, and stepped inside. My mouth hung agape as I saw Cynthia's coat and Bill's suit jacket strung out on the couch. Bill stood in the doorway to the bedroom, with half of his shirt unbuttoned. When he saw us, he clammed up, looking a bit lost for words.

"Wh-what?" He stuttered. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Kyle let out an exhausted sort of laugh. "Bill, normally I would jump at the chance to make fun of you over this, but that's our bedroom!"

"Not cool." I whined, spying Cynthia in the dark room.

"No no no!" Bill held his hands up in defense. "It's not like that! She had a headache."

I walked up and shut the door, letting her get some rest. "So you made her feel all better?" I pointed to the red lipstick on his face.

"I promise we didn't do anything in your bedroom!" He said nervously.

I laughed at him. But my laughter was short lived as I saw Kyle slump down onto the couch. He put his head in his hands and just sat there, looking miserable.

"What's wrong?" Bill asked, trying to wipe off his face.

I answered for Kyle. "Jenny came and took Arcanine. He's in police custody."

"You're kidding!" Bill awaited my response. "So then they really believe he started those fires." I nodded. "This is crazy. Look, we'll settle this, I know a really good attorney."

Kyle put his hand up to stop him. "Thanks Bill, but let's talk about it later. I'm drained."

"Okay." Bill collected his things. "What about Cynthia?"

"We'll take care of her." I replied. "Thank you for staying so late."

He nodded, and saw himself out. I sat down on the couch beside Kyle, putting one hand on his knee. "We'll be okay, right?"

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him. It caught me off guard a bit, but then I realized he wasn't handling this well at all. I hugged him back and let him cry for a while.

x-x-x

The next week went by slowly. The gym remained closed, and I remained at work, trying to do something to help. A customer came and checked-out their pokemon just as the phone started to ring. "Solacean Pokemon Day-Care." I answered.

"I'm still so sorry!" Cynthia was apologizing all over herself since that drunken date incident. "I really am!"

"I know I know." I shook my head. "It's fine okay?"

"Okay." She said that, but I figured she would still be apologizing for a couple more days. "You doing okay?"

"I guess so." I sat down in the chair behind the desk. "Kyle and Bill are spending nearly every day with that lawyer, trying to convince the judge to release Arcanine."

"But they haven't given him back yet?"

"No." I sighed. "They claim that since no more fires have arose recently, it's all the more reason to keep him locked up."

"That's dumb. Meanwhile whatever really did this is getting a free ride!"

I smiled. "Thanks for your support. How's Granny?"

"She's home." Cynthia sighed. "She loves the house. It's beautiful. I can't wait to show it to you. We'll have you and Kyle over sometime, to make up for me crashing at your place that day."

"Okay." Another call was coming through, beeping at me. "Gotta go. Getting another call."

"Kay. Bye!" I switched the calls, and picked up with my usual cheery tone. I was surprised to hear the old woman on the other line.

"Shonna?"

"Mary? Is that you?"

"Hi dear. It's been a while."

"It has! How's your sister in Jubilife?"

"Oh just fine. We're both doing fine. Listen, I had a proposition for you."

I twisted the cord on the phone. "What's up?"

"I've cleaned out the house John and I used to live in. The old place brought so many memories back. I don't need it anymore. I've decided to put it up for sale."

"Really?" They had a beautiful two-story home just outside of Solaceon, close to the ruins. "Is there anything I can do to help you with it?"

"Oh no. You've done enough for us. I just wanted to see if maybe you might want to buy it, before I put the signs out."

I paused for a minute. "I… can I think about it? Talk it over with Kyle?"

"Take all the time you need. I'm not in any real hurry."

"Thank you Mary. I'll consider it."

She hung up, leaving me a bit stunned and unsure what to do next. I quietly day dreamed about the white picket fence house, with the big yard out front. I saw it in my mind like a child's drawing with two stick-man versions of me and Kyle, and a little one.

Lucario burst out laughing as he walked into the room. _"What a bizarre thought that was."_

"Quit looking into my head all the time!" I scolded.

Lucario smirked_. "You have to tell him about the kid before he'll go for a big house like that."_

"Yeah I know." I grinned. "I'm going to look at it. Wanna come?" I ran over to the door and flipped the sign to say 'closed'.

_"No."_ Lucario peered out the window to Stephen in the field. _"I guess I'll keep an eye on him."_

I skipped outside to the fence. "Rapidash!"

In an instant the horse flew around the corner, and leaped over the fence and me to the other side. His silver mane was glistening. I threw one leg over him and climbed up on his back. I was dusting off some dirt from my jeans and green t-shirt when Stephen rounded the corner.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Close up okay?" I winked at him, making him give me a strange look.

Buneary bounded over to stand beside him. He looked down at her, and back up to me. "What are so happy for?" Then, he had a strange look on his face, and started squirming. "Which of your stupid pokemon is crawling on me now?"

In the next second, a tiny yellow ball of fur leaped off of Stephen's back and landed on Rapidash's.

"Pi cha!" He smiled, looking pleased with his acrobatic stunt.

I scooped him up in my arms. "Wanna come with me Pichu?"

"Pi pi." He nodded his head.

We took off, heading up the hill toward the Solacean ruins. It was a short ride, but it felt great. The wind whipped through my hair, and it was a beautiful sunny day. I waved as we passed by mom's house. She was out with her Clefable, watering some strawberry plants. Delcatty shoved Duchess into the water, making the cat recoil and throw a glare his way.

"Oh she'll get him back for that." I pointed to a house furthest up on the hill. "Stop up there Rapidash."

The horse whinnied and pulled to a stop. The house was as beautiful as the last time I saw it. White siding and small front porch. It would be perfect, I thought. I slid off of Rapidash, and let Pichu wander as I bent down to pull a weed away from the stairs. I stepped up on the porch and peered through the glass. "The rooms are so big."

"Pi!" Pichu climbed up into the windowsill and pushed his paws against the glass.

"What do you think?" I smiled. "Would Kyle like it?"

"Pichu!" He jumped up to my shoulder and rubbed his cheek against mine. A small amount of static barely shocked me.

Then, a creaking noise from above startled me. I walked back to Rapidash, and looked up to see Aerodactyl perched on the roof.

"Dac!" It crowed.

"Hey! Get down from there! Shoo!" I waved my hands at her. "That may be my future home!"

"Dactyl." She sat there, looking perfectly content

"Ugh." I hung my head. "Hey wait. Aerodactyl!" I shouted at her. "Can you take me somewhere?"

The big dinosaur bounded off the roof for this. She landed in front of me.

I recalled Rapidash and hopped on Aerodactyl's back, placing Pichu in my arms once more. "You're such a strange pokemon Aerodactyl. You won't battle for me, but you sure love to see the sights."

"Dac." Aerodactyl lifted up into the air. Her jaw was flapping the whole time, and I wondered if she was trying to tell me something, or just laughing at me.

"Okay you jokester. Head for Veilstone." By flight, Veilstone was just a stone's throw away. "The police station is up on that hill. Can you land around there?" She floated over the tall buildings, landing on a storage building nearby. "Thanks." I slid down her tail, using it as an anchor to the ground. "Can you stay here?"

"Pi." Pichu looked up at her on the roof, and nearly fell backwards off my shoulder. "Cha-a!" He wailed as he regained his balance.

She smiled a toothy grin that didn't seem to answer me either way.

"Eh whatever." I walked in through the revolving door. A receptionist sat behind a desk, covered in a wall of glass. I leaned forward to the hole in the glass, and had to stop Pichu from wanting to stick his head inside. "Excuse me. Can you tell me where your Officer Jenny might be? I wanted to speak with her."

She glanced up, and her eyes grew large, as well as her smile. "Oh! What a cute Pichu!" She screamed.

"Uh huh." I faked a smile back. "Officer Jenny?"

"She's not here right now!" The small perky woman tried not to look interested, though she was still stealing glances at Pichu. "You might could catch her at the jail."

"Thank you." I said politely, moving on down the hall. This police department was the biggest in Sinnoh. It had a lot of high-tech elements as well. Including a moving sidewalk that led to the adjacent prison. I wasn't really sure why this one in particular was the largest, but my best guess, was that they remodeled it all after having to accommodate all the people involved in Team Galactic. This city was probably the biggest on crime too. Shoplifting at the Department Store, fights at the Game Corner.

I stepped off the sidewalk at the end of the hall and followed signs to the front desk. This time, a large intimidating woman sat on the other side. Pichu hid behind my head, though I don't think he would have got any attention from this lady.

"Hello ma'am." The woman looked up. "Can you tell me if Officer Jenny is here?"

"Mmhmm." The woman pointed down a hallway. "Right from there. In the pokemon wing."

"Thanks." I walked down this hallway now, rounding the corner. "Pokemon Wing?" I could hear the noise already. I put my handle on the door, opening it slowly. I gasped when I saw the room inside.

On both sides, there were jail cells, with pokemon inside. Some of them looked rough and beat up, others looked sad or sick. It pulled at my heartstrings, seeing pokemon behind bars. I walked into the room cautiously.

"Pi…" Pichu cautiously lifted up my hair to peer out.

"Scy!" I was startled by a scyther that all out tackled his cell, clawing at the bars like it wanted to attack me. I backed against the other cell.

A growl made me jump as a mightyena clawed at my pant leg. "Yena!" I howled at me.

"Pi pi pi!" Pichu was so scared from the advances, he let out a thundershock that shocked Scyther, Mightyena and myself.

"Pichu!" I shouted. "Cut it out!" He finally calmed down and stopped.

"What are you doing here?" A stout woman with short gray hair appeared at the end of the hall. "You shouldn't be in here!" She ran over to the mightyena and the scyther, making soothing noises and saying strange things like… "There there. Calm now." The pair backed up in their cells.

Officer Jenny came around the corner, coming to see what the ruckus was.

"Get out!" The old woman was trying to shove me back. "Out I say!"

"Wait a minute Suzanne!" Officer Jenny put her hand on the woman's shoulder. "This is a friend."

"Friend or not! She shouldn't be in here!" She turned on her heels, and went back to sweet talking the pokemon.

Officer Jenny stood beside me, watching her work. "That's Suzanna Fosters. She's our pokemon therapist. She takes care of the pokemon in this wing, trying to rehabilitate them." We watched as she pushed a bowl of food under the bars. "She also feeds them, so the pokemon here give her a great deal of respect." Officer Jenny chuckled a little. "She's the kind of person that gets along better with pokemon then humans. Sorry if she gave you a scare."

"That's alright." I looked around. "Officer Jenny? Have all these pokemon actually committed a crime?"

She frowned. "They've done something to endanger other people or pokemon. That's all it takes. But our therapy program is very effective. In time, they are able to be released back to their trainers or the wild." She turned to me. "They are normally kept in pokeballs so they don't try to get away, but you came in during feeding time."

My heart ached for these pokemon, but I felt a little better knowing most of them got to be returned to their homes. "But, what about Arcanine?" I asked. "Is he here as well?"

Officer Jenny pulled a pokeball off her belt. "I've been given temporary custody, until the case is settled." She walked down the hall to an empty cell. "He's not really allowed to have visitors, but since it is his 'feeding time'…" She smiled and released him into the cage. Arcanine laid in a heap in the concrete floor.

He lifted his head and looked at me, but seemed a little out of it.

"Arcanine!" I bent down to his level. "What's wrong with him?"

"Pi?" Pichu hopped down, crawling through the bars to nudge Arcanine's arm. "Pi pi!" He shoved his paws against him. Arcanine sniffed the rodent, then gave him a lick on the head. "Cha!"

"Our medical team gave him a sedative. It is to keep him from moving around too much while his body is healing."

I had to admit, his injuries looked much better, but I hated seeing him like this. I reached my hands through the bars, stroking the fur on his cheeks. "Arcanine. Don't you worry boy. We're going to get you back!" I watched as his eyes lit up a little, and his fluffy tail gently wagged. "Oh Arcanine." A tear ran down my face. "We miss you."

"Ar." He barked softly, raising his head to lick my face. He laid his head down in my hands, and closed his eyes.

Tears swelled in my eyes as I stood to look at Officer Jenny. "You have to see that he's harmless! You know that! Is there no way we can take him back?"

Suzanne snuck up behind us, sliding the food into Arcanine's cell. He picked a few pieces off the top, but refused to eat much more than that. "There is nothing wrong with this Arcanine, besides the fact he's injured and wants to go home." Her voice cracked. "I've already turned in my medical evaluation. He has a clean bill of health, mentally."

"Isn't that enough then?" I shouted.

Suzanne just walked away from us. Officer Jenny sulked. "I'm doing everything I can, but there are no other suspects." She sighed. "Just wait it out a bit longer, okay?" Seeing Arcanine wasn't going to eat anymore, she recalled him and placed the locked pokeball back on her belt. She started down the hall, and Pichu and I chased after her.

"Jenny please. Tell me if there's anything that can be done to speed this along. We'll gladly pay any kind of bail."

"You'd have to convince the judge of that."

"Bill and his lawyer are trying to do just that. But is there anything else we can be doing?" I pleaded with her.

She exited the door and headed right down a different hallway. She didn't respond to me and instead stopped a man who was headed in the direction we came.

She put on a smile. "Warden, how are things?"

"Crazy as always." The man adjusted his moustache. "I assume the same for you?"

"You know it." She laughed. "May I ask, how is Charon Pluto doing? His daughter is here."

The warden turned to me. "So you're the young lady he always talks about. Are you here to pay him a visit?"

"Not really." I scowled.

He scowled back, but I'm sure his was much more intimidating. "Please do, since you're here."

Officer Jenny must have led me this way intentionally, I gathered. "Lead the way."

The two of them led me to a desk with a phone and glass between it. Pichu hopped up onto the desk, looking around.

"Piiii!" Pichu flung himself into the coiled phone cord, getting tangled up in it.

"Just sit here and be good." I untangled the cord, prying him free and placing him beside me as I took a seat at the table.

The warden had left to go find Charon. Officer Jenny only stayed until she saw Charon from the other side of the glass. "I'm going to go." She put one hand on my shoulder. "We'll be in touch." She waved before walking away.

The man on the other side looked rough, and still so much older than he should be. He looked funny in the orange jumpsuit. He adjusted the tiny glasses on his face before he sat down. He took the phone and lifted it to his ear.

"Hello Dr. Pluto." I refused to call him 'dad'.

"Hello." He said back with a smile. "I'm glad you're here. It's been so long since we talked last."

I stared into the space behind him. Nothing back there but stark white walls. "What do you want to talk about anyway?"

"I wanted to catch up." He leaned forward in interest. "How have you been?"

"Umm…" I thought about what all had happened since I last spoke with him. "Kyle and I got married."

"That's wonderful." He smiled.

I felt uncomfortable. "I should probably go. This feels weird. Like talking to a stranger."

"Don't go." He clutched to the phone tightly. "You seem troubled."

"Yeah." Was all I said, at first. Maybe he could give me a little insight. He did know a lot about pokemon, just not for the right reasons. "Tell me, do you know of another four legged pokemon that can generate fire other than an Arcanine?"

"I saw the Arcanine in the news last week. A news chopper caught it on camera in the streets."

I looked up at him now. "I… I didn't know it was in the news."

"I'm sure that's part of the problem. The media is convinced he's the one."

"So you knew about that all along." I frowned.

"Word travels fast. Plus there is not much else to do here than watch television."

I looked around the room nervously. "Look, unless you have something worthwhile to say, I'm going." I scooted out my chair, ready to leave.

He smirked. "For you being my daughter, I would have thought you could have figured this mystery out by now."

"What?" There was a long pause. "What is there to figure out?"

He continued to annoy me with that knowing smirk. "Who is causing this madness, of course."

"Do you know something about this? If you do, you'd better tell me right now!" I yelled into the phone, making him pull it away from his ear.

"So defiant." He glared. "You're just like your mother."

"That whole nice guy thing was just an act. You haven't changed."

He shrugged. "Let me ask you something, the police think the culprit is a large dog of the fire type species. Now who would that be?"

"An arcanine." I narrowed my eyebrows. "But not ours."

"Sure, it could be another arcanine. Are there any other options?"

My mouth hung open slightly as I thought, trying to run through the pokedex in my head. "Ninetails maybe?"

"It's more like a fox, and its slender frame is not easily confused as a stocky dog pokemon."

I thought harder. "There's one more, but it's impossible."

He smiled. "Nothing is impossible. Assume that for a moment."

I expelled a loud sigh. "Fine. Assuming that, an entei could be behind this. But they are so rare, and live in Johto and Kanto. I've never heard of one being here."

"Entei eh?" He seemed lost in thought. "Ah I remember now. I once knew a man who was obsessed with entei. I knew him when I worked at Silph Co."

"Silph Co? In Kanto?" I vaguely remembered hearing of the place. "That was a Team Rocket Headquarters for Giovanni."

"I used to work there for a time. Cyrus had me stay there just long enough to get my hands on their master ball technology. I only left with two. I wasn't the only one that wanted one though. Another was stolen. Right after I took mine, there was some sort of event there."

I pushed my glasses up on my face. "What kind of event?"

"A fire I believe. It burned the building completely down."

My eyes widened. There had to be some sort of connection. "Who was the guy who was interested in entei? What was his name?"

"Ah, I don't remember. That was a long time ago."

I hung my head. I guess I couldn't expect the old man to remember everything. "Well, thanks for that bit of info. That sort of puts things into perspective."

He just smiled. "I'm glad I could be of some use to you."

I looked up at him. "Maybe, maybe you have changed a little."

He laughed, getting up from his seat. "Nah. Not really." He hung up the phone, then gave a wave, before turning and walking out of the room.

I put the phone down on the receiver. I had a lot to think about, but no time to think about it. I scooped up Pichu and placed him on my shoulder. "Let's go Pichu!" I jumped up from my seat so fast that I knocked the chair over. I tripped through the door and bolted down the hallways. When I got to the moving sidewalk, I started running down the wrong one, not actually going anywhere. "Oh geez!" I turned and headed down the other, this time going too fast and falling flat onto the floor.

"Cha!" Pichu bounced off me and turned around. "Pi pi pi chu!" He went on like that, almost like he was lecturing me.

"Ouch!" I sat up on my knees as the conveyor carried me forward. Some people riding by on the other side turned to stare.

I shakily stood up at the end of the hall, and bolted through the police department with Pichu right behind me. Officer Jenny looked around from the doorway.

"Done with your visit already?"

"'Scuse me!" I shoved by her, making the revolving door spin behind me.

"Pi Pi!" Pichu got caught in the next turn of the door, and trying to act just like me, began shoving on it with all his might, trying to make it turn. "Pi!" He closed his eyes, struggling.

For a moment, Officer Jenny looked down at the mouse curiously. She gently pushed on the door, making it turn to the outside.

Pichu fell down on the pavement. "Chu!" He held one paw up triumphantly, before giving chase.

"Hurry up Pichu!" I called, beckoning him up my arm, onto my shoulder.

"Pi!" He did so, full of determination.

"Alright!" I ran over to the storage buildings. "It'll be a little longer flight, but we absolutely have to get to Canalave City!" My excitement was short lived. I looked up to the roof where I had left Aerodactyl, and saw she was, not surprisingly, missing. "Great." I said with sarcasm.


	70. The Research!

**x-x-x**

**Episode 69: The Research!**

"Okay Pichu." I touched one of his large pointed ears. "You've got better hearing than me. Do you hear any commotion, any people screaming?"

He closed his eyes and listened. His ears perked, and he jumped off me to the ground. "Pi!" He pointed his paw into the city. I followed him as he ran down the road, leading the way.

We eventually got to the game corner, where I saw Aerodactyl's back side on the roof. Her pointy tail was waving around. I walked around the building to the front, where some large glass windows were. Aerodactyl leaned her head down to look at the people inside.

"Eeeeiiii!" Screams erupted.

"Dac dac dac!" Aerodactyl lifted her head, out of view from the people, then flung it down again, showing her full set of sharp teeth.

"Agghhhhh!" The people screamed once more.

"Dac dactyl!" Aerodactyl raised up, and began rolling around on the roof in laughter.

"Aerodactyl!" I called, making the people around me turn. I felt embarrassed, knowing I was the one commanding this pokemon. "I've got somewhere else to go." I could hear police sirens coming. "It's a big city too!"

She lifted her head, then dove down and grabbed me and pichu in one of her massive claws. She pulled up, and flew out of the city in seconds.

"Aerodactyl!" I clutched onto Pichu with one arm and with the other, pounded one fist against her foot. "Let me up on your back. We need to have a talk!"

She rolled her eyes, and lowered me to a water tower. I nervously stepped down onto the domed surface. Aerodactyl hovered below, just in front of me.

"This is so dangerous." I held Pichu in both arms now, and screamed as we slid down the side of the dome, landing on Aerodactyl's back.

"Pi pi!" Pichu clapped his paws together happily.

"So not fun." I scolded. "Aerodactyl, fly straight ahead to Canalave."

She flew quickly. We crossed over Solacean in a minute.

"Aerodactyl. I am truly worried about you and this fascination with scaring people."

"Dactyl." She snickered.

"I'm serious! I think you believe you're something like Pichu, and that everybody thinks you're cute or something."

"Pi?" Pichu tilted his head to look at me, then bared his tiny teeth and attempted a growl. "Chaaaa!"

"See?" I pointed at him. "He's totally not scary."

"Chu." Pichu hung his head.

"But you actually are scary! And one of these days, people are not going to take your jokes so lightly."

"Aer…" Aerodactyl turned her head to glance back at me.

"Today I saw a pokemon jail! They'll take you away if they think you're dangerous. They'll put you in a cage too small for you when it's time to eat a small bowl of stale pokemon food from a bag, and the rest of the time you spend cramped up in your pokeball, just to reflect on what you've done." I exaggerated parts of that intentionally. "You won't get to go places with me, or live freely, and you wouldn't be able to live in your nest on the Solacean Ruins!"

"Dac!" Aerodactyl gulped, looking uneasy.

"Please stop bothering people." I pet her neck. "I don't want them to take you away from me."

"Dac…tyl." She slowed down when we reached Canalave City.

"The tall building there is the library. That's where we want to be."

She gently landed on its roof, lowering so I could step down.

I turned to her. "This shouldn't take long, so could you please wait?"

She turned around, watching the ships leave the pier. I wasn't sure if she would stay, or go terrorize the people down there, but I had to give her the choice. I kept my eye on her as I walked over to the door leading off the roof. I opened it, and stepped inside.

Obviously this was not the usual way of going into the library. There were cobwebs all around, but I kept going down the steps until I finally got to the first floor. I was exhausted by the time I got to the front desk, and leaned over it. "Periodicals." I huffed. "What floor?"

"The tenth." The woman beamed.

I let my head hit the desk.

"Umm…" She pointed to her right. "There's an elevator over there."

"Thank you!" I lifted my head up, and walked away, though I really just wanted to stay there and rest. I had to stop and sit down at a table. Pichu hopped off my shoulder to look around. I held one hand over my stomach. "I wonder if I'm already gaining weight?"

"You look fine to me!" A familiar voice said from behind me. I leaned my head back to see Flint standing there.

I lifted one hand up in a wave. "Hey voltorb head!"

"Voltorb?" He pushed down on his red afro. "Quit ragging on the hair! You know you are so jealous."

"For sure." I grinned. "But mine can do that too if I get Pichu to frizz it up." I started laughing. "Is that your secret? Do your pokemon fry your hair in the morning?"

"I'll never reveal my secret." He smirked.

"Hmph." I leaned over the back of the chair. "What's an uncultured guy like you doing at a library anyway?"

"I could ask the same thing of you." He crossed his arms. "Just cause you have glasses doesn't make you a refined bookworm."

I liked to read, I just didn't have the patience to ever finish a book. "And you're not fooling anybody. Everyone knows there's no brains in that head of hair."

We glared at each for a minute, then laughed. "Touché." He took a seat beside me. "Now why did you have to go and leave the league anyway? I miss our squabbles."

"You miss that?" I watched Pichu run from one end of the table to the other. "I didn't like all that attention. Being the champion was hard work. Do you know how many pokemon food companies started begging me to be their spokesperson?"

"Probably about as many as the antacid companies that wanted me to lie and say they cured my heart burn."

I stared at him. "Seriously?"

He grinned. "I don't even get heartburn! I can take the heat."

"Lucky. I love spicy food." I grumbled. "I get it all the time lately."

He stared at me strangely.

"What?" I sneered. "Hey Flint, your suspenders are falling down."

He looked down at his baggy pants. They were always that way. "See this is what I'm talking about!" He punched me lightly in the shoulder. "I can't joke around with Cynthia like this."

I smiled, then turned my attention to Pichu, who was gnawing on the front cover of the latest issue of Pokemon Times. "Pichu!" I pulled him away. "Don't do that."

He gave me big sad eyes. "Chu?"

"No. No chew." I waved my finger in front of him. "I'll tell Kyle on you."

"Cha!" The little rodent hid behind my arm.

Flint turned back to me. "How is Kyle? I saw the thing with Arcanine on the news."

I put my head down. "Has everyone heard about that?"

"It was breaking news. But it's starting to die down now." He looked down. "That's rough. I mean, if there's anything I can do…"

"Thanks." I smiled at him genuinely. "You're a good friend Flint. I'm sure Kyle feels the same."

There was a moment where we sat there silently enjoying each other's company. A rare thing since the relationship between Flint and I was usually just a game of bashing each other. Someone sat down at the other side of the table, drawing my attention.

"Flint?" The man asked. "You look like the one from the pictures."

"That's me." His eyes lit up. "Oh! It's you Dr. Ignite. Sorry I didn't meet you out front. I was just catching up with an old friend. This is…"

"Shonna." He answered. "Fancy meeting you here. I am terribly sorry about Arcanine. Please give Kyle my condolences."

I twitched a little in my seat.

"It's an awful thing, having a pokemon turn on you like that. If only I'd been able to tell on our first meeting…"

"Arcanine is innocent!" I stood up, slamming my hands on the table. Pichu jumped back, hiding behind Flint now.

"Be quiet!" The woman from behind the front desk yelled. "This is a library!" I hushed and sat down, though I really didn't want to.

The old man's eyes widened. "My apologies. I didn't mean to say…" He stopped and turned to Flint. "Perhaps we should take our business outside."

"Yeah." Flint placed one hand on my shoulder. "You okay Shonna? Just calm down alright?"

I turned away.

"C'mon." Flint threw his hands up in the air. "I'm sure Dr. Ignite didn't mean anything by it. He's only here because he wanted to have a look at my pokemon."

I listened to him, but didn't say anything.

Dr. Ignite cleared his throat. "I asked to meet Flint so I could observe some of his pokemon. I've heard he's a very powerful fire pokemon trainer."

Flint put one hand behind his massive hair. "No not really." He feigned modesty. "But being in the elite four is pretty awesome."

"So why are you meeting here?" I asked. "Why not in Veilstone, where you are staying?"

He tapped his fingers on the table. "If you must know I'm writing a book on how gym leaders deal with facing fire type pokemon. I wanted to speak with Byron about this. He is a steel type trainer, correct?"

Flint and I nodded.

"Excuse me." A young boy, probably about ten or so, approached us. "I couldn't help but overhear. Are you really the world-renowned Dr. Robert Ignite?"

"Yes I am." He answered, running a hand through his beard.

"Would you sign my book sir?" The boy dug a huge book out of his backpack.

"Ah." Dr. Ignite pulled a pen from his pocket and flipped the book open. "The mysteries and myths of fire pokemon anatomy. One of my first ones."

"Mmhmm!" The boy nodded. "I got it as soon as it was out. I want to be a great fire pokemon trainer someday."

Dr. Ignite signed the book and handed it back. "Keep it up." The boy beamed as he took his book and walked off.

I sighed. "Sorry I jumped onto you. I understand everyone's got their own opinions." I stood up. "Just as long as you know you're wrong."

Dr. Ignite glared at this, and Flint laughed nervously. "Oh Shonna." He chuckled. "Kyle must have been attracted to that firecracker personality of yours."

"Flint, if you don't mind." Dr. Ignite scooted back in his chair and started walking out.

"Right. Uh, see ya Shonna!" Flint waved, then exited the building. I watched them through the glass as Flint released a huge Flareon for the professor. It was almost as tall as Flint. Dr. Ignite leaned over it, inspecting the thick fur in its mane.

"Whatever!" I waved my hand. "I've got my own important research to conduct." I headed for the elevator. "Follow me Pichu."

"Pi?" Pichu ran through the doors as they slid open. We stepped inside, and I reached over to the button panel.

"Pi! Pi pi!" Pichu cried, standing up on his back feet.

"Oh all right." I picked him up and held him up the buttons, pointing to one. "This one here."

"Pi!" He slammed both paws against the button, and squealed as the elevator began to carry us up.

The door opened at floor ten. It was a much smaller area, with nothing in it other than bookshelves and one computer in the corner. I sat Pichu down, letting him roam around. "I really hope I get more out of this than I would doing an internet search." I went over to the computer, searching their database. "Fire at Silph Co. PER 36.15B" I crossed over to the shelves, weaving my way through each one in search of the number.

"Pi?" Pichu was ducking behind the shelves, as though he thought we were playing a game of hide and seek.

I picked a binder off the shelf, flipping through the laminated newspaper articles. Finally finding the headline I wanted, I sat down in the floor to read.

"Possible Arson at Silph Co. Leaves Saffron City Speechless." Pichu crawled up into my lap. "Believed to have been a tools and pokeball manufacturer, The Silph Company is exposed to be a Team Rocket headquarters after the devastating fire that destroyed the building. Police believe the fire was started internally, and consumed the building quickly because the suspects inside refused to report it to authorities. All employees of Silph Co. are now being questioned and considered suspects in this case. However, this is proving difficult for officials to track as many of the suspects used fake names or aliases during their employment. Saffron City police are working hard to find the remaining suspects who may have fled from the building as the fire arose."

I flipped the page, looking at pictures of the burnt down building. "By the time Kyle and I came through here, something must have been rebuilt. I don't remember this." The article continued. "Records found in the rubble are inconsistent, however officials believe that many items and pokemon being held at the facility were taken from the grounds. One record shows the production of three masterballs. None of which could be located."

I thought to myself. "I have one. Dialga is somewhere in one, so who has the third?"

I kept reading. "Saffron City is ashamed and embarrassed at how serious this situation became. It is believed that several trapped pokemon were killed in this fire. Saffron Police are working day and night to discover the leader of Team Rocket, and stop the terror he leaves in his wake."

I looked down at Pichu, He was only looking at the pictures. "Giovanni was the leader of Team Rocket during that time. Kyle I actually helped get him arrested because of that shady gym he had in Viridian."

"Pi." Pichu smiled, as if he remembered.

I flipped the binder closed. "This still doesn't tell us much. We need to find out who has that last masterball. They may be the key to this whole mystery."

I flipped the binder closed. Pichu crawled up onto the cover, and turned to look at me. "Chu?"

"Yeah I know." I scratched my head. "It could be anyone. We really need more information." I stood up, placing the binder back on the shelf. Pichu followed me as we went down one floor to the encyclopedias on pokemon species. I followed the list alphabetically until I stumbled onto an entire book on entei. "Entei. The volcano pokemon. The first entei was believed to have been created by Ho-Oh along with the other legendary beasts, Raikou and Suicune after the burning of the Brass Tower. Entei is said to represent the flames that burned there. It is a large dog shaped pokemon, with a thick mane that stretches down the length of its back. It is said that every time a new volcano is formed, an entei is born."

I looked down at Pichu, still holding this book tightly. "How about that Pichu? That means that there could be more than one entei in the world, there could be several I guess. And it also says here that the legendary beasts never settle in one particular place." I ran my finger along the text, then paused. "It says the legendary dogs don't interact much with each other, but they do tend to hold a pack mentality, coming to aid the other when it is in trouble. Scientists have documented unusual frequencies in the cries of these pokemon, ones that can not be registered by human ears, but seem to be heard among other legendary pokemon."

I zoned out for a moment, trying to put two and two together. "Pichu, do you think it's possible that Arcanine could somehow hear those cries? That he was responding to them by trying to reach the source, and help?"

Pichu didn't say anything. His round black eyes grew large.

"I think… that must be it!" I shut the book and shoved it back on the shelf. "How else could he know exactly where to go when those fires happened?"

I scooped Pichu up and headed back up the stairs. "Arcanine didn't hurt anyone! He was trying to save them! And he was trying to stop the pokemon that was causing it!" I gasped, stopping at the door to the roof. "That's why he always came back so injured."

I shoved the door open, and was pleasantly surprised to see Aerodactyl roosting right where I'd left her. She gave me a toothy grin. "Dac?"

"Hey Aerodactyl." I stroked under her massive jaw. "Ready to go home?"

"Dac dactyl." She lowered so we could climb aboard and we flew off into the evening sky.

x-x-x

After dropping Pichu off at the center, I went home, only to find the gym and the apartment upstairs completely empty. There was a note on the table that said "At Bills. Call me – K" I walked over to our phone and dialed the number. Someday I wanted to get a video phone, but for now, this old thing would work. Kyle picked up.

"Hey Angel."

"Hey K." I teased. "You coming home tonight?"

"Afraid not." He said. "I've been taking up all of Bill's time lately with this legal stuff, and he hasn't even had a chance to practice for his big conference tomorrow."

"Oh is that tomorrow?"

"Yep. He asked if I could stay tonight and be his audience."

"Okay. Where's that conference going to be? I'll get Cynthia and we'll meet you both there."

"It's at the Veilstone City Conference Center. Nine a.m."

"Oh duh." I laughed. "You doing okay Kyle?"

He sounded a bit hesitant. "Yeah. Got a bit of a headache, but yeah."

"You need to get more sleep."

"I know."

"Kyle, when this stuff with Arcanine is over, we need to talk about something."

"Like what?" His voice pepped up. "Go ahead."

"Not over the phone." I giggled.

"Sneaky. What are you hiding?"

"Gotta go. I found out some interesting stuff today. I'll tell you about it when we meet tomorrow."

We exchanged our goodbyes and hung up.


	71. The Conference!

x-x-x

**Episode 70: The Conference!**

Cynthia was squirming in her seat.

"Will you please stop fidgeting?" I tried to keep my voice low. "You're making me nervous."

"Sorry." She looked around, still slightly bobbling in her fold out metal chair. We were patiently waiting in the audience, ten minutes before the scheduled talk. "But just look at all these geeky weirdoes we're sitting amongst." She tried to whisper, though some still turned to look at her. "Aren't we a bit out of place?"

With one finger on the bridge, I pushed my glasses up on my face. "How so?"

She grumbled. "Maybe it's just me."

I tried to figure out what she meant by that, but before I could complete my thoughts, something weaved between my leg and the chair's. I looked down to see a glameow, hunkered down and looking behind me.

"Glameow!" A woman's voice blared. She tripped over people, working her way over to us. "Glameow! If you don't straighten up right now…"

"Meow!" The purple cat hopped up into my lap. I didn't know what to say as it curled its tail around its body and sat there, turned away from the girl in front of us.

"I'm real sorry." The woman looked a little younger than us, perhaps around 20. She was dressed in an orange tank top and denim shorts. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail that went in all directions. "The name's Bebe. That glameow is mine."

"Shonna. And on my left is Cynthia." I pet on the pokemon's head. "She's a sweet thing."

"Yeah, when she wants to be." The girl laughed. "She's not normally so fond of strangers."

Cynthia had been eyeing the girl, then spoke up. "My friend here is good with cat pokemon. She has quite a few."

"Not really. Just two." I chuckled.

"Hey!" Bebe slammed a fist down into her palm. "Do me a favor and watch her for a while? I've gotta go get ready for the conference." She threw up her hand in a wave and ran toward the stage. "Thanks!"

"Who was that?" Cynthia glared. "She sure wasn't very dressed up for this thing."

"Bebe." I paused. "Ah! I remember! Bebe is the name of the woman that manages PC systems in Sinnoh. She works with Bill."

"That girl?" Cynthia leaned forward, watching her run behind the curtains. "She didn't act like a brainiac."

"Meow!" Glameow mewed as I scratched behind her ears. I smiled at her.

"Hey!" I looked over to see Kyle and Bill waving from the side of the room. Kyle worked his way over to me. People in our row were starting to look agitated. "You didn't save me a seat?"

"Sorry. I couldn't."

He looked down to the pokemon in my lap. "Where'd you get that?"

"It's Bebe's. She asked me to watch it."

The old man in the seat to my right made an irritated groan.

Kyle sighed. "Well I guess I'll go find a seat in the back." He weaved back to where Bill was, said something, then the two split up. Bill walked up to the stage, and Kyle headed to the back of the room.

The room quieted as a man stepped up onto the stage. "Ladies and gentleman. I welcome you all to this conference on the future of the PC systems. Without further ado, our invited speakers. Both of them are from Johto, but have chosen to work in different regions to broaden our usage of the box system. May I introduce Bill, who has came to visit with us all the way from Kanto! And with him, Sinnoh's very own PC expert, Bebe!"

Bill stepped up onto the stage first, dressed to the nines in a suit and tie. Bebe followed him, looking polar opposite in her stage presence and attire. She giggled and put her hand on Bill's shoulder, waving to the crowd.

Cynthia tensed at this, though I didn't think much of it. Bill shrugged her off and approached the microphone as the other man exited the stage.

"I want to thank everyone for coming out today. It is great to be here in Sinnoh, and work with my fellow pokemon researcher, Bebe." He motioned to her. "I only wish that Lanette and Brigette of Hoenn could also be here. Unfortunately they could not make it here today."

Cynthia grit her teeth. "Does he only work with women?"

I shrugged.

"I can remember when being able to store and trade pokemon was only a dream of mine. A concept that wracked my brain as a child, and at ten, instead of going off on a pokemon journey, I made it my personal mission to create something to help trainers, pokemon centers, and researchers alike. The PC system has done everything I had set out to do and more."

I watched as someone got up from one of the first few rows and left. He kept his head down, but I could still tell it was that it was that guy Bill admired so much, Professor Ignite.

Bebe took a microphone and spoke. "After accomplishing it in Kanto and Johto, Lanette and Brigette worked with Bill to create a system in Hoenn, and I did likewise for Sinnoh."

Bill stepped forward. "Many of you may be wondering, where will the PC system be in ten years, or even in five. But I have some exciting news of new features that are going to be put in place next year!"

Some people in the audience turned to whisper to each other.

"We are all collaborating to make a new interface for all the PCs. One that is more user friendly, and with better security and technology included." Bill looked so eager as he explained. "New PC system's will have faster processors, so trades and transfers can happen much more quickly, and there are plenty of new customizable features. Such as new wallpapers for the box system. Not too mention the improvements in the newest version of our e-mail message system. I can't wait to show everyone how well the new functions will… will…" A concerned look grew in Bill's face as he trailed off in his thoughts. The cameras in front focused in on him, zooming in to capture his words. I tried to mentally cheer Bill on in my head, hoping he hadn't lost his train of thought.

The room was quiet, but something seemed to be causing a commotion in the back of the room, I tried to ignore it at first, until I noticed Bebe's face grow livid as well.

"Fire!" Bill screamed into the microphone. "Everyone get out now!"

x-x-x

"What did you say?" Officer Jenny nearly spilt her coffee as she clutched the phone. "The conference center is on fire?"

"Yes!" The operator spoke back. "We're sending emergency response now."

"Thank you." Jenny hung up the phone and reached around her back for the pokeball. It was sparking in resistance. "Arcanine, you just might get to go free soon." She jumped up and ran out of the station. She could see smoke from the building, even from where she stood. Sirens blared as fire trucks sped through the city. Jenny hopped on her motorcycle, prepared to take off when a bearded man in a white trench coat appeared, running up the stairs.

"Professor Ignite!" Jenny pulled the motorcycle up beside him. "Do you see? This is probably another fire from the arsons!"

"Yes I know!" He yelled. "I was just there! I saw a most unusual sighting of a large Flareon down there. One I could of sworn I've seen before."

"A Flareon?" Jenny leaned back in shock. "No Flareon could be as big as that thing we caught on camera."

"This one was. But then again, it could be my eyes playing tricks on me. Either way, I would like to raise the possibility of evaluating the large Flareon that a man named Flint owns."

"Flint?" Jenny shook her head. "As in our elite four Flint? Save whatever you are thinking for later Professor. I've got to get down there and make sure everything is alright!" She sped off, leaving a trail of dust behind her. She didn't have time to listen to the ramblings of that eccentric professor. "He was wrong about Arcanine." She grumbled. "I'm not taking what he says worth a grain of salt. We should have never invited him onto the task force."

Professor Ignite watched as she rode away. "Hmm." He turned back to the police headquarters. "It's probably about time to move on again."

x-x-x

Everyone was in a panic as the entrance to the room was engulfed in flames, they started work their way up the walls, licking the ceiling above. Smoke was also filling the already darkened room.

The man who had announced Bill at the beginning of the conference ran up the stairs to the stage and took the microphone from Bill. "Everyone! Remain calm! There are two emergency exits behind these curtains! Please exit in an orderly fashion!" He threw down the microphone and bolted for one side of the stage.

People of course, jumped up and trampled each other to get out the doors. Cynthia and I tried to take our time behind them. After all, the fire was only just reaching our room. I looked back every few seconds, just to make sure Kyle was still behind us, making his way forward as well. I clutched onto Bebe's glameow, holding her up in my arms. I blinked as we exited the building, reemerging in the daylight. Some firemen urged us on across the street, to where Bill and Bebe were.

"Glameow!" Bebe held out her arms, catching her pokemon as it made a flying leap to her. She was nearly in tears. "Thank you for taking care of her! I wanted to come get her that second, but I couldn't get through for the people!"

"It's alright." I comforted. "I would never leave a pokemon behind."

Bill approached Cynthia. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, smiling. "Yeah I'm fine."

"Oh Bill!" Bebe threw her arms around him. "That was scary!"

Cynthia gave them a look while Bill tried to shove her off with one hand. "You're okay Bebe. Calm down."

I searched the crowd, as he finally emerged. "Kyle!" I ran into his arms. "You okay?"

"Just fine." He looked back as the firefighters worked tirelessly to put out the flames. "Sure wish I had gyarados with me."

Cynthia watched as well. "I didn't bring many of mine either. Just Lucia and Togekiss."

"Lucario." I answered. "I didn't think I'd need any more with me today." I turned to Bill. "Bill! Your next endeavor should be to make a portable device with the box system on it!"

Bill looked stunned at this. "You know, that's actually a brilliant idea! A PDA with a pokemon storage system installed." He turned to Bebe. "Do you think it would be possible?"

"Sure." Bebe nodded. "You would just have to use a wireless connection and make it big enough to deposit a pokeball. In compact mode, that wouldn't be all that bulky." The two of them began rattling equations and such, working amongst themselves on this new invention.

I turned back to the building. All the fire was nearly put out. Sirens continued to blare as Officer Jenny pulled up on her motorcycle beside us.

Her teal colored hair blew in the breeze. "Is everyone safe?"

"It doesn't seem that anyone was injured." Cynthia answered.

"That's good news." Jenny turned to Kyle. "If our suspicions are confirmed, this is the work of that same arsonist pokemon. Arcanine will have a much greater chance of being released soon."

Kyle hung his head. "I miss him. Is he doing alright?"

"He's just fine." She got off her motorcycle and approached another cop. "Officer Jun. I'm going to borrow your squad car. Take my bike back to the station." She tossed him the keys without giving him a chance to reply. "Hey you guys! Get in! We'll go downtown and see if we can't get Arcanine released right now!"

Kyle's eyes lit up at the idea. He hopped into the passenger seat without question. I sat down into the back seat, and Bill took the seat beside me. There was only one seat left. Bebe looked like she wanted to go, but Cynthia practically threw herself in beside Bill, and shut the door. "Kay. We're all in."

"What about Bebe?" I asked, with just a bit of concern.

Bill chuckled. "She'll be fine. She's got her Mustang if she wants to follow us."

I looked back and saw Bebe get in a red convertible, but she didn't follow us. She took a left at the first light. "She's not coming."

"Good." Cynthia said.

"Jealousy much?" I whispered.

Cynthia shot me a glare, and we both looked to Bill, but he was in his own world. "Ah! I bet she's headed back to work on plans for that PDA box system! She's going to beat me to it!"

Cynthia and I raised one eyebrow at this.

Officer Jenny coughed to interrupt. "We'll be at the station soon. Bill, you said that Professor Ignite was smart right?"

"Smart?" Bill started laughing. "What kind of question is that? He's written all kinds of books, done countless lectures, he's one of the best researchers in his field!"

"And you're sure he's not like… crazy?"

"Crazy?" Bill scoffed. "Why?"

"He made an insane accusation that a big flareon was causing these attacks now. In fact, he named it as being Flint's flareon."

My mind started racing back. Ignite was with Flint at the library, studying that flareon.

Officer Jenny pulled to a stop in front of the station. "I mean, I thought it was pretty outlandish when he accused this Arcanine, but Flint's flareon now?"

"Doesn't that seem suspicious?" I blurted. "I think this guy has something he's hiding! We should talk to him!"

"Not the professor." Bill sulked.

"It couldn't hurt." Jenny got out of the car. "He should be inside somewhere."

We followed her in and Jenny spoke with the receptionist, asking for Ignite's whereabouts.

She twirled her hair on one finger. "Oh he like, left. He said he felt the city was too dangerous, but that he would call you as soon as he got to wherever he was going." Officer Jenny gave her a displeased look. "Oh! By the way, there's a young man waiting by your office." She pointed down the hall. "He says he has something you need to see."

Jenny sighed. "Excuse me for just a second."

I watched as Jenny walked down the hall to where a guy was sitting, slumped over. He stood up to say something to her, then held something that looked like a piece of paper out. "Hey Cynthia. Isn't that the guy that took our picture?"

"Hmm?" She gave him a sidelong look. "Yeah. Victor. Right?"

I headed down the hall to where they were. Jenny held a shocked expression. The others followed behind me as Jenny looked back to Victor. "Show them."

Victor gulped, looking nervous. "Well, like I said, I was collecting photos for my final portfolio. I go to Hearthome Art Institute. I saw the big Arcanine on the streets that day, and went out into the forest nearby. That's when I saw this."

He held up a photo that made us gasp. It was blurry, and black and white film, but one could still plainly see an Entei through the trees, and a man's figure in the background.

Victor shuddered. "Since that day I felt that someone was watching me everywhere I went. Right after I developed my film, I noticed this shot. I made one print of it right then, before it had even had a chance to dry. When I did hang my film up to dry, the next morning it was gone. My friend found it melted down and destroyed in a trashcan. I rushed here straight away to give this to you." Victor shoved the print into her hands. "It's police evidence now?"

"Yes." She took it, flipping it around in her hand.

"That's too bad about your film." I said. "Will that hurt your grade?"

Victor smiled. "You're as kind as you are radiant miss! My professor is going to extend my deadline, since my film was vandalized." He turned back to Jenny. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No. I'll go turn it in."

"Thank you. I'm glad to have it out of my hands." He breathed a sigh of relief, then ran out of the building.

Everyone then looked at each other seriously. Cynthia peered over at the picture again. "So there is an Entei in Sinnoh."

"And someone behind it." I mentioned. "I'm going to try and sum this up, but when I went to visit my father yesterday, he told me of mysterious event that happened when he worked at Silph Co. They made three masterballs. He took two, and someone else took another. Someone who was obsessed with owning an Entei." I paused when everyone turned to look at me. "Well call me crazy, but doesn't it seem entirely possible that a man around the same age who studies fire type pokemon and pokemon crime team history, who also is putting up accusations on other pokemon, could have something to do with this?"

"It is worth questioning him." Jenny smiled. "In fact, it sounds like just reasoning for it. The problem is, he took off. Where could he be?"

"He's at Lake Valor." Bill said, fiddling with some small electronic device. He noticed us staring at him. "Well, I mean, that's where this social media site tagged him at."

Kyle shook his head. "He has one of those things?"

Bill put one hand behind his head. "I set it up for him on his PDA. He said he didn't know anything about them. But I insisted he do it so he could keep in touch with his students."

None of us knew exactly what to say to this, but we raced back to the squad car. Jenny flipped on the siren and lights, and took off down the road heading south.


	72. The Confrontation!

x-x-x

**Chapter 71: The Confrontation!**

We parked right in the parking lot of Lake Valor. There were a couple of fisherman out, but they packed up when they saw the police car pull up. I wondered if they had a fishing license. This left only one man at the lake. I could see only his wild black hair from the back. He sat on a bench, reclined back.

Officer Jenny got out of the car first.

"Wait." Bill shoved out. "Let me talk to him." Bill walked over to him. "Hello Professor."

"Hello Bill. Have a seat." He looked over his shoulder. "You brought your friends I see?"

"Yes." Bill sat down. "Sorry to tell you this professor, but they want to ask you some questions."

"I'm full of answers." Ignite scruffed his beard.

"No I'm afraid it's not questions of trivia, or research. Professor, they suspect you might have something to do with these fires. They think you might know who really is behind them."

Ignite opened one eye to look at him, then closed it. "I've already told Jenny of the Flareon, and I told her it could be something else. I didn't get a good look at it."

"I understand." Bill smiled. "I'm sure if you just come and answer a few questions for Officer Jenny, she'll let this all go."

"No." Ignite rose up. "I don't believe I will."

Bill blinked. "Professor?"

"I don't take orders from anyone. Especially not a former student."

"Sir, I wasn't say that…"

"Shut up Bill." Ignite turned around to us. "It was you wasn't it?" His eyes focused on me. "Play dumb, but you must be the smartest one here, to have come up with this little deduction." He started laughing. "Is that why you were at the library yesterday? Tell me girl. What is your evidence to back up your claims?"

I hated this guy. I really hated his guts, and though I viewed that as evidence enough, I knew I didn't really have any proof he was behind it.

"Back off Ignite." Officer Jenny stepped forward. "Just come with us for questioning, and we can just settle this like adults. I don't want to have to call this in."

"Please." Ignite scoffed. "I know my rights. I don't have to do a thing until we are in the presence of my lawyer."

Cynthia let a pokeball drop behind her back. "Air cutter." She whispered. In a flash, Togekiss was released and flew over us. It swooped down in front Professor Ignite and quickly flew back up, knocking him backwards with a gust of air. Something fell from behind his long white coat, and rolled toward the lake.

"What's the big idea!" Ignite stood up furious. "You're having your pokemon attack me? Arrest her Jenny! That's assault right there!"

"What's this Professor?" Bill picked up a worn looking purple pokeball.

"Give me that!" Ignite grabbed at it, but Bill held it back. "It's just a pokeball!"

Bill frowned. "Then you won't mind showing us what's inside!" He threw the ball down on the ground, causing a massive light to burst out. We all watched in awe as the figure grew larger by the second, forming four legs and a shielded face. Long brown fur came into view. The monstrous pokemon growled at Bill, and swung a giant paw, knocking him away. Bill ran back to us, looking shaken up. "It's true then! You do have the Entei!"

"What of it!" Ignite spat, dusting himself off.

"You're a liar!" Kyle yelled. "You've been blaming this on other people's pokemon, my own Arcanine even! It was you and this Entei all along, wasn't it?"

"This Entei and I are unstoppable." Ignite laughed. "It has given me its complete trust, and will do whatever I command. That town, and that forest, all those were just tests, to see how far Entei would go for its master."

"You monster!" Cynthia screamed. "That was a town full of people! My home! You destroyed it!"

Ignite only smirked.

"Robert Ignite!" Officer Jenny stepped forward with handcuffs. "I'm placing you under arrest!"

"Entei. Stop her." Ignite muttered.

Kyle's eyes grew large as Entei began to take a deep breath. He pushed me down to the ground. "Everyone! Get down!"

In an instant, Entei blew a massive flamethrower attack our way. Bill pushed Cynthia down at the last possible second, but Jenny stood guarding her face with her arms, screaming as the flames hit her.

"Officer Jenny!" Bill crawled over and pulled her down to the ground. She rolled around, screaming from the pain as the flames extinguished. Entei finally stopped his attack.

"Jenny!" Kyle and I ran to her. Her legs and arms were badly burned. "Hang on!" Kyle lifted her up and carried her back to the cruiser, trying to sit her down slowly in the passenger's seat. "Is there a way to radio for help?"

She nodded, fighting off tears as she pointed to a small hand radio. Kyle reached it to her. "This is Jenny, requesting backup immediately at Lake Valor. Repeat, requesting back-up immediately. I'm down, injured by an Entei."

"Entei?" A voice answered back. "Did you say an Entei?"

"Yes Jun!" Jenny screamed. "I need back-up now!"

"Request received. We're on our way Jenny. Sit tight."

Jenny let the radio drop, and reached around her back to grab something. She placed the pokeball in his hand. "He's not fully recovered, so don't use him unless you have to."

Kyle nodded, and ran back to where we sat.

I was still completely shocked that a pokemon would attack a human like that. And with such ease. I knew that pokemon could be dangerous, but I had never seen one with intent to kill.

Entei shot a glance to Togekiss, who was still lingering in the sky, and threw a flamethrower up into the air, scorching the poor pokemon. "Toge!" It cried as it hit the ground.

"Togekiss!" Cynthia rushed over to it. "Togekiss!" She nudged the passed out pokemon, and finally recalled it. "You'll pay for that you scumbag!" Cynthia threw out Lucia next, who stood strong and ready.

"Cynthia!" I stood up. "You can't take him on alone."

"By all means, go ahead and use as many as you'd like." Ignite laughed.

I frowned, pulling Lucario's pokeball out of my purse. Releasing him, he stood beside Lucia, ready for action.

"What a fine mess this is." Lucario looked over his shoulder at me.

"Hush Lucario. You're one of my strongest, show this guy up."

"Lucia!"

"Lucario!"

"Aura Sphere!" Cynthia and I yelled in unison.

Both pokemon charged up aura spheres in their paws, reaching a size larger than their bodies. They released, and Entei charge forward. He burst toward Lucario's aura sphere, shoving his iron face into it. He used it to push the sphere into Lucia's aura sphere, dissipating both.

"Tei!" It cried as it kept running, straight for Lucia. Lucario flung himself into the line of fire, being hit hard by Entei. On contact, Entei threw Lucario's body up into the air and blew out another massive flamethrower. Lucario's burnt body hit the ground hard.

"Lu!" Lucia rushed to his aid. Entei chased her, grabbing her in his jaws, He tossed her in the other direction like a ragdoll.

Cynthia and I stood wide-eyed as the beast turned to us next.

Ignite snickered. "You lose."

I could see the flames headed our way just before we were scooped up and lifted off the ground. I looked up to see Bill and Kyle riding Charizard, who was holding us up in his clawed hands. He sat us down a distance away. Bill hopped down to join us. "Return your pokemon, quickly."

We nodded, recalling our lucarios. Kyle landed on Charizard, just in front of Entei. He slid down to stand beside him. "You've got a lot of nerve. Thinking you're all high and mighty for beating up on a flying type and two steel types." He pulled out a pokeball, pressing the button to enlarge it from compact mode. "Why don't you try fighting fire with fire?"

"With pleasure." Ignite bowed slightly. "It would be an honor to battle with one who understands the complexities of fire pokemon."

"You and I are nothing alike!" Kyle released Magcargo onto the ground. The grass around the slug pokemon began to catch ablaze. "For instance, this pokemon was once tricked into working for an evil person, but no more. Even pokemon have a sense of what is right and what is wrong. Why are you making this one do these things?"

"I raised it to be this way since it was a baby. It knows no other way." Ignite pulled his coat closer on him. "I always dreamed of having an Entei. The most powerful fire pokemon alive. I stole a masterball just so I could catch one, if I ever found it. And low and behold, ten years later I did. And it only took following the patterns of emerging volcanos."

"An entei is born every time a new volcano is." I mumbled.

"Correct!" Ignite laughed. "I found it as a youngling, and took it as my own. But as you should know Kyle, a pokemon is only as good as you train it to be." He smirked. "I wanted mine to do my every command. So when the Sinnoh Arson Task Force asked me to come look at one of their incidents, I of course came up with the great excuse that a pokemon was causing fires. In reality, that first one was just a poorly discarded cigarette."

"You're sick." Kyle clinched his fist. "You forced your pokemon to hurt others!"

"Anything that stands in my way. Including you! Entei! Fire Blast!"

"Earth Power!" Kyle called.

As Entei released a huge amount of flames from his throat, Magcargo glowed deep purple and pulled chunks of earth and rock up from the ground. It created a barricade in front of us, shielding us all from the blast.

Entei looked a little confused and thrown off by this.

"Rock Throw!" Kyle commanded. Magcargo jumped unexpectedly and slammed its shell into the rock wall. Rocks and dirt were thrown at Entei. And it shook its head angrily.

"Tei!" It cried, raising its head to the sky.

"Don't just stand there! Finish it!" Ignite screamed.

I saw Entei flinch for a second before it pounced Magcargo, swinging his paw into the snail. It went careening right into the lake.

"Mag! Mag!" The pokemon wailed as it sunk deeper into the water.

"Return." Kyle held the pokeball high to recall it. "Cheap move." He sent out his next. "Typhlosion!"

"Phlosion!" It stood up, pushing the fire out of its back.

"Too easy." Ignite snickered. "Destroy it Entei!"

Entei charged forward. Its long brown fur was blowing all around.

"Dodge!" Kyle's command was quick enough, but Typlosion wasn't. Even though it dodged, Entei matched its speed and latched onto Typlosion's neck. Entei bit down hard, pushing Typlosion to the ground. He held one paw over the pokemon, until it stopped resisting. "Return!" Kyle grit his teeth. "Charizard. You're up."

"Charrr…" Charizard growled as he stepped toward Entei.

"Take to the air!" Kyle shouted. Charizard flew straight up, into the light of the sun, making Entei back up a bit. "Now! Strength!" Charizard started swooping down, remaining in the light of sun.

Entei didn't falter. In fact, it struggled with itself to remain looking toward the light. I didn't figure out why until I saw tiny orbs of light forming in Entei's mouth. "Kyle!"

He must have seen it too, but it was too late to do anything. The solarbeam came roaring out of Entei, hitting Charizard head on. Entei sidestepped Charizard and the dragon hit the grass, throwing dirt around as he skidded to a stop.

"Charizard!" Kyle called. His pokemon didn't move.

"I told you we were invincible." Ignite laughed. "Have you even landed a move yet?"

Entei started walking back to its master.

Instead of weakening, the flame on Charizard's tail brightened. Kyle relaxed. "Flare Blitz!"

Charizard was up in a flash. His body covered in flames. He flew right into Entei as its back was turned. Entei rolled over on the ground, then jumped up, growling back at us. The attack was too much for Charizard. He collapsed, and Kyle returned him.

"Ah yes. Very good." Ignite nodded. "Using the last bit of energy it had with its Blaze abiltity. I do hope you have something better than that."

Kyle took the pokeball Jenny had given him in his hand, he didn't say a word, but released the dog in front of him. Arcanine stood there, facing Entei. His gaze shifted behind him, and though he hesitated, the big dog couldn't resist running back to Kyle.

"Ar! Ar!" Arcanine licked on his face, and pushed him down to the ground.

"Yeah I know!" Kyle laughed. "I missed you too, but we'll play later okay?"

"Ar." Arcanine nodded, and turned back around with all seriousness to his opponent.

Ignite frowned. "That's the Arcanine that was such a thorn in my side. The one that kept interrupting our training."

"Training?" Kyle shook his head. "Arcanine! Let's show him what a real flamethrower is!"

Arcanine and Entei both matched each other in a flamethrower attack. Both dogs kept pushing out more heat, making a giant fireball between them. It burst out, throwing fire onto the ground. Cynthia, Bill and I started to step back, because the fire was beginning to spread.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea…" I said nervously.

"Would you rather him not fight him?" Cynthia asked. "If he didn't, it looks like that old coot would try to kill us all."

I felt bad for Bill, who just stood there watching the scene unfold.

Entei and Arcanine began to circle each other, baring their fangs and growling at one another. The two suddenly lunged at each other, biting, clawing, and blowing flames around as they fought like a pair of wild dogs.

"Arcanine!" Kyle cried. "Back up!"

He did as he was told and backed away, still keeping his eyes locked on Entei.

Kyle took a deep breath. "Use your Extremespeed!"

Arcanine took off, running around Entei so fast that I couldn't tell where he was. But the scary part to me, was seeing Entei's red eyes follow him. In one swift motion, it blew out a fire blast that struck Arcanine, knocking him backwards.

Ignite chuckled. "Really. How many times must we beat up this poor pokemon?"

Kyle ran to Arcanine, placing his hands on his side. He felt blood under his palm. "Arcanine?"

"Arr…" Arcanine stood up shakily.

Kyle stepped back to us. "Bill, get everyone in the car and get out of here."

"What about you?" I grabbed his arm. "I'm not leaving you."

"Come on Shonna." Bill tugged me away. "Kyle's right. Things are getting dangerous. We need to go."

I struggled with him as he led me to the car.

Ignite snickered. "No one is going anywhere."

Entei leaped over Arcanine, and blew a flamethrower toward the car.

"Bill!" Kyle screamed, pointing to Jenny, still trapped in the vehicle. Bill shoved us back and jerked up the car door. He grabbed Jenny by the arm and dragged her out of the car as the flames trailed under the hood.

Arcanine threw himself between the vehicle and us as it erupted in flames. The heat from the blast blew us all to the ground. Black smoke rose into the sky, filling the air around us. I lifted my head to look as the trees nearby began to catch ablaze. Entei was emitting a heat wave attack as it stepped closer toward us.

I buried my face in my arm, trying not to breath in the fumes.

Kyle stood up. "Leave them out of this. This is our battle!"

Ignite laughed. "This battle is over."

Arcanine raised his head, and lifted it to the sky, letting out a howl, a cry for help. It was long, and loud, then silenced.

Entei stopped walking toward us when a drop of rain hit the ground. He turned to see the black clouds on the horizon, coming our way.

In a bolt of lighting a new beast came down. One bright yellow, with black stripes around it.

And from the trees behind the lake, a blue fluid creature skipped across the water.

Cynthia pulled herself up on one arm. "Raikou and Suicune."

Entei turned to them, ready to attack.

"How?" Ignite backed up behind Entei. "How did they get here?"

"Cune!" Suicune dowsed Entei in a powerful hydro pump. Entei writhed and hunkered down. Raikou leaped onto Entei and forced his fangs down on his neck, releasing a Thunder Fang attack. Entei shook him off, then fell to one knee.

Bill crawled his way over to us. "Cynthia. Give me your pin."

"What?" She plucked one of her black hairpins out and handed it to him. "What do you need that for?"

He took it, stood up, and made a run for Ignite. He snatched the masterball out of the surprised professor's hands. "You would like to believe this pokemon trusts you completely." He dug the pin into the release hole on the back of the ball. "But lets see how much he obeys when he's no longer yours."

"What?" Ignite stumbled. "What did you do?"

The ball opened and cast a red light over Entei for a second, then ended. Bill stepped back, pocketing the ball.

"Entei!" A vein stood up on Ignite's forehead. "Kill this nuisance!"

Kyle pulled Bill back as Entei rose and approached them.

"You're free!" Bill screamed. "You don't have to listen to him!"

The sky was black from the smoke. The lake reflected orange from the fire all around. I coughed, laid my head on my arm, and let everything go dark.

x-x-x

Everything was black around me, but a blue light emerged from under my feet. I stepped back, and dark water appeared in its place. Out of it, rose a figure I recognized.

"Azelf." I whispered. The fairy like pokemon twirled, swinging water off its long tails. It looked at me sadly. "Lake Valor's guardian." I started to tear up as well. "This battle has wrecked your home."

"Zelf." It said softly, turning away from me.

"Don't go!" I reached out to it. "Azelf, you have the power to change one's will."

It turned its head back to me.

I placed my hands together in a plea. "I beg you, please help that Entei. It lived through years of being taught the wrong way. Make it lose its will to hurt others."

The light blue pokemon turned to me and smiled. It floated closer and closed its eyes. The red stone on its head emitted a bright light that was blinding. It faded back to darkness.

x-x-x

Entei stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes suddenly widened. He looked for a brief moment like a scared pup, hunkered down and surrounded. He looked at Kyle and Bill, Raikou and Suicune, then to Ignite. He ran in a straight shot for the trees, and disappeared from view.

Ignite looked stiff. "What happened? I can't move!" Nobody knew how that was possible, but no one really cared either.

Cynthia stood, watching as the storm Suicune and Raikou created began to put out the flames. The rain poured down as the beasts walked slowly to Arcanine, who was laying beside Kyle and Bill. Raikou used his head to pull him up to a stand. Suicune walked around to his side, licking his deepest wound. The cut healed up slowly.

"Ar." Arcanine bowed his head in a show of thanks.

"Cune." Suicune and Raikou stepped out toward the lake. They looked back at Arcanine, almost like they were waiting on him.

"I think they want Arcanine to come with them." Bill said. "Astonishing. They recognize him as being on the same level as them."

"He is." Kyle stood back. "He's just as good as any legendary." He stepped toward Arcanine. "Hey boy."

"Ar." Arcanine rubbed his head against him.

Kyle ruffled up his wet fur. "I'd like to be a selfless trainer who'd say you can do whatever you want. But I'm not. I don't want you to go."

"Arf." Arcanine licked his face, then gave the two legendary beasts a look, one that acknowledged his choice. The two bowed their heads back at him, then ran back across the lake.

Cynthia heard a noise behind her. She turned, seeing a cyan silhouette hovering over Shonna. It flew off, into the sky. "Shonna!" She bent down to her. "She's unconscious!"

The others ran to join her, as sirens could be heard coming their way. Officer Jun stepped out of the car, and looked livid at Officer Jenny's burnt body lying on the pavement. Another officer ran to arrest Ignite. Ambulances pulled up, with people jumping out with stretchers.

Cynthia stood, letting Bill hold her up as Jenny and Shonna were loaded into the back of the ambulances. Kyle returned Arcanine, and they hopped into the back with them.


	73. The Surprise!

x-x-x

**Chapter 72: The Surprise!**

Kyle was the first to be discharged, and he suspected Bill and Cynthia would be out soon. He anxiously waited to ask what Cynthia had said to the nurse as they wheeled Shonna away.

He looked down the hall at the closed doors to the E.R. Whatever it was, certainly got the nurse's attention. He had wanted to ask her right then, but they were all shuffled off to different parts of the E.R.

He sighed, rolling the pokeball around his neck nervously.

Officer Jun sat down beside him, looking just as much a wreck. "There was a traffic accident, it took a while to get around. You have to believe we came as quickly as we could."

Kyle stared at him. "Okay?"

"Well? How did that sound? You think Jenny won't kill me?"

Kyle blinked. "Is she okay?"

"She's awake, and already biting my head off." He chuckled. "She's on a bunch of pain medicine, and all bandaged up from those burns. I said to her, 'Hey, at least we'll be able to tell you apart from the other Jenny's now.'" He smiled slightly. "Man, that got her mad."

Kyle gave him a disgusted look. "I can see why. That's really a cruel thing to say."

"Ah, women like it when you're a little mean to them."

"No." Kyle shook his head. "No they don't."

Jun pulled down on his hat. "Well romance and flowers may work for you, but not for my Jenny."

Kyle was still stunned. "No I really think you should trust me on this one."

Jun scowled and got up. "Well I can't tell her that she's still the most beautiful woman I've seen! She would think I've gone all soft!"

Kyle leaned back in his chair. "I think that's what you should do."

"No way!" He stormed off, but looked a little hesitant, like he was thinking about it.

"That was odd. Good to know Jenny's doing better though."

He heard the click of Cynthia's high heels and looked up. Bill had one arm around Cynthia as they came to sit down beside him.

"You guys okay?" Kyle asked.

"Yes." Bill answered. "Just scratches and bruises for us."

Cynthia hung her head, almost like she was trying to avoid the question that was coming.

"Cynthia, what did you say to that nurse? Before they took her back?"

"Umm… I…. I can't say Kyle. She would want you to hear it from her."

A tall blonde-headed male doctor rounded the corner. "Mr. Gray?"

Kyle stood. "Yes?"

"They're both going to be just fine!"

Cynthia groaned. "There goes that idea."

Kyle looked confused. "Oh. You mean Officer Jenny?"

The doctor laughed. "No I mean your wife and the baby! Follow me. They're taking the oxygen mask off her right now."

Kyle looked back to Bill and Cynthia, who just smiled and shrugged, he picked up his pace and followed behind the doctor. "You sure you got the right guy?"

"Yes of course." The doctor kept his hands behind his back as he walked. "We were very worried at first. Smoke inhalation can cause a lack of oxygen to the fetus. But an ultrasound shows she's very healthy."

Kyle's eyes widened as he took everything in. "She?"

"Yes it's a girl." The doctor chuckled again. "Oh sorry. Were you waiting until the birth to find that out?"

Kyle laughed a little. "I sure hope not."

They walked into the room where Shonna was lying down, drinking some water.

"Mrs. Gray." The doctor smiled. "Feeling better?"

She nodded. "My lungs hurt a little."

"They might be sore for a couple days. If it doesn't feel better than you should come back and we'll look at it." He motioned to Kyle and headed back out. "I'll leave you two alone to visit. You can go whenever you're ready."

Kyle took a seat beside her bed and scooted it toward her. "So, when were you going to tell me?"

x-x-x

"Oh shoot." I whined. "They ruined it for me, didn't they?" I sighed. "Hey, would you mind, if I… you know, told you anyway?"

He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Sure, lay it on me."

I reached over to hold his hand. "Kyle… we're going to have a baby."

There was a long pause. "Feel better?" He asked.

"Yes thank you."

He got up and wrapped his arms around my neck. "You silly, crazy woman. Now I've got twice as much to worry about."

I winced. "Are you unhappy?"

He kissed me on the lips, pulled away and grinned. "I am very happy. And very glad both of my girls are safe."

"Girl?" I questioned.

"Oh." Kyle smirked. "I'm the one surprising you."

"It's a girl?" I had to resist the urge to bounce up and down in my bed. "What are we going to name her?"

"Haylee." Kyle said firmly.

"Oh, you've had that thought out for a while huh?"

He looked a little embarrassed. "I just always liked it."

I suddenly remembered. "Are the others okay?"

"Cynthia and Bill are fine. Officer Jenny is healing up, from what I've heard."

I tried to raise up. "And the pokemon?'

He gently pushed me back down. "I took all our pokemon to the pokecenter as soon as they discharged me. They're fine."

I leaned back against the pillow. "What happened to that Entei?"

"I don't know." Kyle shook his head. "I thought sure it was going to kill us, but it just stopped and turned tail. It took off."

I smiled. "Thing's are going to be fine then."

"Yep." He sat on the edge of the bed. "There is one problem however." He put one hand on my shoulder. "There is simply not enough room above the gym for a baby. I think we're going to have to get a bigger house."

I laughed and hugged him around the waist. "You know, I just may have a place in mind."

He ruffled up my hair. "I figured you would."


	74. The Next Generation!

**A/N: I want to first and foremost thank all the readers of mine and Frabulator's stories. It has been a real privilege to share the product of our love of the pokemon franchise with all of you. I really hope that our stories have served to not only entertain, but bring just as much enjoyment reading them as we have in writing them. Frabulator (AKA Kyle) Still has a Hoenn story to finish up, but as for me, this could be the last chapter I post on here. I've toyed around with the idea of a black/white story with a new set of characters but where that will lead, I'm not sure. **

**Once again, thank you so much for all your reviews and support,**

**~ Shonna**

x-x-x

**Epilogue: The Next Generation!**

Cynthia peered down into the crib at the little baby, with just a tuft of blonde hair. "She's so tiny." She whispered.

Bill looked over as well. "Babies usually do start out that way."

She turned to him, starry-eyed. "I want one! Let's make one."

"Cynthia!" Bill gasped, then pulled her out into the hallway, so as not to wake the baby. "Now…" He blushed. "Do you really?"

"No." She laughed, punching him in the arm. "I don't want kids. But she is really cute."

Bill laughed back nervously. "Yeah. But hey, remember we're supposed to be baby-sitting."

"Uh-huh." She gave him a sultry stare. "How long do you plan on staying in Sinnoh this time mister?"

He backed up against the wall. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering." She pushed herself up on him. "You know, if you keep showing your face around here, the media's going to get wind of it. They might even say the world famous Bill and Cynthia are going steady."

He gulped, then relaxed. "How would that be a bad thing?"

"Well," She turned away. "It wouldn't be true, would it?"

He wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear. "What if I told you I was planning on staying for good this time?"

Her gray eyes widened. "Do you mean that?"

"I'd say it is already in the papers." He looked up at the ceiling. "World famous Bill buys a new home in Celestic Town."

Cynthia beamed. She turned around and kissed him, just as Haylee started wailing.

Bill pulled away. "Your turn."

"Ugh." Cynthia sulked back into the nursery. "Haylee, I'd like to know why your parents are three hours late getting back."

x-x-x

"Yahoo!" I yelled as we bolted down the road atop of Arcanine. He was using extremespeed to take us through the whole town. We laughed happily, coming to a stop in front of the house. Kyle helped me down.

"Arcanine, you're the best! You know that?" I nuzzled my face into the soft fur on his cheek.

"Ar! Ar!" He yipped.

"And he has been spoiled rotten since he got back to us!" Kyle crossed his arms. "But he totally deserves it."

I put on the same cutesy voice I often made for Haylee. "You want a poffin? I fixed some today?"

"Ar! Arf! Ar!" He bounded up and down, wagging his fluffy tail.

"Okay" I shrugged. "Five poffins it is! Stay right here while I go get them."

Arcanine could barely contain himself as he sat patiently.

Kyle pet under his chin. "That's a boy. I'm never letting anyone take you away from me again."

Arcanine gave him a warm smile, and a lick across the face. He seemed just fine with that idea.


End file.
